Dunk me, Daddy!

We went to the pool in my Mom's neighborhood yesterday while in town to celebrate my sister's birthday and see my step-niece who was visiting from Ohio. My Mom and Ryan both mentioned how much Natalie loves the water and wondered how she would respond to being dunked. I was hesitant at first but, boy, she REALLY LOVED IT! I think the pictures say it all.

Imitation.....

....is the highest form of flattery (or so they say). Natalie has become quite the little queen of imitation lately. Each day she does something cuter than the day before. Her newest forms of imitation are trying to plug in my old curling iron that she found in the guest bathroom drawers and holding cups up to the ice dispenser on the fridge door (this one is impressive to me b/c we don't have a fridge w/ that feature....sad, I know....so she has picked that up at her grandparents houses). Other things that she likes to imitate us doing are putting chapstick on her lips, trying to rub on diaper cream herself (she gets the tube from me while changing her diaper and sticks her finger in and then rubs it on her belly), wiping off her mouth when she is done eating, using a tissue to try & blow her nose, trying to put q-tips in her ear, brushing her hair & teeth, putting her hat & shoes on, using the remote control, talking on the phone, drinking from the straw of Ryan's giant water jug, & flushing the toilet.

Meredith's Wedding

My very best friend since elementary school, Meredith, got married this weekend. I got to see my group of high school girlfriends all together again which was wonderful. One of my friends, Tina, and her husband and baby boy stayed at my Mom's house with us. We really enjoyed getting to spend time with them. My brother and his girlfriend babysat for us so we could all "let loose" at the wedding. A fun time was had by all, I do believe! :)










It was REALLY hot at the wedding so we had to cool down! :)

Go Heels!

UNC won the national championship for basketball this year! Woo hoo! GO HEELS! As you can imagine, Ryan was beyond thrilled with their season and their big win during the championship game. I have a friend from my Mom's group who is from North Carolina (like Ryan is for those who don't know) and she also went to UNC. She was home visiting her family and brought back this t-shirt for Natalie. How sweet of her!

15 months old

Natalie is now 15 months old. Can you believe it is already June? Where does the time go? She had her 15 month check-up and was fighting us to bust out of the exam room and walk up and down the halls to say "hey" to everyone (she won & I let her do it for a few minutes). I've never seen a baby who likes to say "hey" to every single person as much as she does! She continues to gain weight more so than she did as an infant. She weighs 23 lbs. 1 oz. which is a 3 lb. gain since her 12 month visit. That puts her in the 70th percentile (according to WHO). She is 31 inches tall which is 50th percentile. Her head remains over 85th percentile which the doctor says means she has a "big brain"....we shall soon see, huh?!?!

I am beginning to think maybe she is super smart b/c her vocabulary continues to amaze me each and every day. Being a speech pathologist, I like to keep track of all her new words (so bear with me). These are the new words she has learned this month: spoon, knee, boo-boo, tee-tee, cracker, up, teeth, more, clock, eat, fruit, trash, car, food, see, bib, purse, bag, bye-bye, suit (for swimsuit), shirt, book, bed, TV, cup, cat, back, and pact (for a makeup compact; her Grandma taught her this).

This will probably be the last month I try to keep track of the new words since at some point the list will be just way too long (hopefully). LOL. She actually even understands many more words than this.

Natalie also shakes her head "no" now in response to us (like, "do you want more milk?"). She follow some basic directions like "bring me your cup" and is proud of herself when she does it. It is really cute! She has also figured out how to flush the bathroom toilets and now one of them runs constantly. She has learned the signs "baby", "banana", and "fish". She suddenly just started doing these signs one night while in her highchair after dinner. She had the biggest smile on her face and was SO proud! She seems to be becoming obsessed (not really!) with the Baby Signing Time DVD and does the sign for "baby" and points to the TV and then gets her remote (yes, she really does that!) and sits in her little chair. So cute & sweet!

She really enjoys playing on our bed. She goes to it and points and says "bed" and then likes for us to get up there with her and hide under the sheets, roll around in the pillows, and bounce up & down. We also think she likes trying to walk on the memory foam top.

Her favorite thing to do is explore any & all new things. She also likes to "hoard" stuff (as I call it) and see how much she can carry around in her hands while walking all over the house. She likes to put things in & out of containers and take lids on & off.

Natalie still also really loves "side" and requests to go (out)"side" many times a day. She walks everywhere and tries to run all through the yard and enjoys picking up leaves & sticks & rocks. She keeps us on our toes that is for sure! We're loving every minute of it. :)

Now that she is trying to run everywhere she likes to escape after bath time and run all over the house naked as a jay bird. Too cute!

Fun times at the Beach

We spent Memorial Day weekend in Perdido Key, FL with a group of our friends and had an awesome time! We were SOOO glad we decided to go...(the 4 hr. car ride is tiring with a toddler who doesn't like to sleep or nap in a car though). But, the ride down was totally worth it just to see Natalie's reaction to the ocean! She LOVED it and I mean LOVED it! She would kick her feet and squirm and squeal with glee when Ryan carried her out into the water and dipped her down into the waves. She also ate her fair share of sand and really surprised us both by sitting still for more than five minutes in a kid's beach chair on multiple occasions.

She took good naps and slept well at night which we had been concerned about before leaving Auburn. We made a last minute decision to stay an extra night and leave early Tuesday morning to get back home for work. The four nights went by way TOO fast and we're hoping to make it back to the beach with Natalie again sometime before the summer is over. Of course, I took way too many pics (over 100 I think) so check some of them out here on Facebook. I'll try to add more pics here later!

Natalie is walking!

Natalie took her first steps over a month ago and then spent every waking minute for a good part of April and May having me walk around with her while holding my hand....boy did my back hurt! We went to a playdate for her friend's first birthday party a few days ago and she finally decided to let go and really walk on her own....and there has been no stopping her since! She is well on her way to being a little "run-yun" (not sure how to spell that made up name but it is what Ryan's parents called him b/c he walked at 10 months of age for a few days and then just ran everywhere after that! LOL).

Momma Made It

When I was a little girl, my Mom and Granny would sew cute outfits for us to wear. There was a contest at the state fair one year called "Momma Made It" and they sewed an outfit for me, my sister, and my brother to each wear in the contest. I know at least one of the outfits won a ribbon but can't remember whose it was.....

So, this Mother's Day weekend, Natalie and I were staying at my Mom's house and I had my first ever sewing lesson from my Mom. I was going to make an A-line dress but switched to a pillowcase dress style because it seemed easier (no lining or buttons). My Mom was a good teacher and was very patient with me. I had quite a few mistakes but am very proud of the end result! Look at this cute little summer-time dress that Natalie now has.... and I can honestly say, "Momma Made It" (with a little help of course)! :)

14 months

(She was so proud of herself for being silly & cute and tilting her head to the side during breakfast the other morning)

I am trying to keep track of all the new words that Natalie says but it seems to be one or more new words each day so at some point I won't be able to keep up! New words she has said in the past month: ball, keys, nana (for banana), shovel, up, dog, pool, bird, broom, slide, snack, squirrel, bowl, Kix (the cereal), grandpa, grandma, Mimi, and Phe (Mimi's dog). She also has learned the sign for "bird".

She has started putting two words together (mostly in imitation of us) and has said: all gone, sit down, bald baby (this is what her Daddy affectionately calls her), Hey Daddy, not nice (that is what I tell her when she does something wrong like throw her cup down), night night, and out side (she thinks this is two separate words).

She shakes her head for no when she does something she shouldn't and before I even have a chance to say no.

She also knows quite a few body parts (nose, ear, feet, toes, eyes, & belly button) and can point to them when you ask her. She has learned to give eskimo kisses too and it is super cute.

Other exciting news is that she has taken her first steps since the 13 month update! The first time she did it was right before Easter and she has continued to do it more & more since then. She seems to take a few steps every couple of days and it is totally on her own terms. We practice walking with her each day which she loves but she still will not let go of our hand very often. We do think she is on the verge of just letting go & walking everywhere soon!

Ahead of Myself

I seem to keep getting ahead of myself with my blog posts....I have 7 posts that have been started but not finished. I can easily write down whatever the post is about...my problem is attaching the pictures to go along with it since that requires me to upload the pics off the camera....I'm hoping to get at least a few of those 7 mostly finished posts on my blog soon. :)