July 28, 2013

Updates on Natalie-just shy of 22 months old

Natalie seems to be growing and learning new things every minute.

She is much more confident going up and down stairs and doesn't always need to use the handrail.

She is saying more words that we can understand "alright, I need help, pretty,cheese, my bag, pillow, Where's Dada?, watch, shoes, all done, lap".

She raises her hand and says "me" when asked if she wants to do something.

Natalie and Lexi are definitely "feeding" off each other - either one of them can get the other excited. Natalie wants to do exactly what Lexi does - and lets you know it if you say no, she can't.

We also think Natalie is expressing an interest to use the potty. She is saying something that sounds like "potty" and when asked if she wants to sit on the potty, she nods yes. Of course, she hasn't done anything on the potty but she has sat on it several times.

While on vacation, we went in the pool almost every day. Natalie definitely loves the water and "jumps" (really steps into your arms) off the side.  She and Lexi slept in the same bed while on vacation. That was a bit of a challenge. Natalie still moves around and sleeps sideways so she ended up poking Lexi with her feet several times.

Natalie loves to wash her hands - she gets upset if you don't let her if you are washing your own hands.

July 7, 2013

Lexi's Spring Concert

Natalie wanted to help me film the action so apologies for all of the up and downs!

What's New?

Natalie takes pictures with this little toy camera that we have. She holds it up (in your direction), says "Cheese" and then says something like "pretty".

Natalie also knows that the word "two" comes after "one" though I don't think she is counting. But if I say "one", she then says "two".

Each day or so, it seems like Natalie is saying more and more words that we can understand.  It's pretty exciting. She definitely says sentences: "I want more", "I no like", "Need help", "I like."

Other known words and phrases : Night-night, I'm fine, Bye-bye, Sisa (for sister) or LaLa for Lexi. We think she calls herself "Na-na". "I want down." Up, Mine. Ball.

She can tell you the sounds of the following animals: lion (Roar!), dog (woof-woof), cat (moow), cow (moo).

Natalie is definitely figuring out how to claim her space. She was riding in the stroller, got out to walk with Lexi and me and when Lexi said "I can ride now", Natalie promptly got back in the stroller.  There are also squabbles over toys and places to sit.

Natalie also likes to put on the fancy dress shoes that Lexi plays with.  She knows that she has to walk slow and reach out for things to hold onto.

Natalie at 21 Months


June 7, 2013

Lexi's class leads All School Meeting

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All School Meeting is held every Friday and the whole elementary building gathers together. It's kind of like a pep rally.  Lexi was excited that I was able to come and see her sing with the class about being ready for 1st grade.

June 4, 2013

Natalie's latest antics

We have a Norwegian Stokke high chair for Natalie. Now that she's able to get around better - up and down places - on her own, we removed the plastic parts to the seat that make it a high chair. It's the type of chair that grows with the child. You can move the seat down as the child grows bigger. So now it's basically a stool - a chair with a high seat.

And now that it's no longer a high chair for a baby, Lexi wants to sit in it too. The jealousy, the sibling rivalry, has come back a bit from Lexi. Sarah had to say very seriously to Lexi last night that it is Natalie's chair. Lexi was upset and cried because she feels Natalie is getting a lot of new things, that she is getting all of the attention. (Don't tell her that we're about to buy Natalie a new dresser, which she needs now.)

So Lexi went to bed upset last night. I was surprised that first thing this morning, Lexi had remembered how upset she was last night. Both girls woke up early and were lying on our bed with me as Sarah was showering and as I listened to the news first thing, like I do every morning. And I was surprised at how smart and sophisticated Natalie has gotten. Lexi asked her several times, each time adding a "please" or "pretty please," the question: "Can I sit in your chair?" Natalie answered each time with a "no." She is understanding more and more words and instructions from us by the day. She is saying many words now, although they are still not as clear as an adult would say them.

Then, when I came home from work today, I rounded up the garbage and recycling so it can be picked up tomorrow. I took the recycling bin out to the curb and left Natalie in the house, since she had already taken her shoes off. Sarah was picking up Lexi from school. Normally we go out the back door and take a key that hangs above the door and unlock the screen door, leaving the key in the lock until we come back through the door. Well, while I was outside taking the recycling bin to the curb, Natalie played with the key and somehow locked the screen door. I could see her and talk to her through the door, and I tried telling her to turn the key the other way. She tried, but she couldn't turn it hard enough. Fortunately, I knew Sarah would be home any minute with the keys to the house so she could let me in, which fortunately she did. We thought this was funny, but we know now to take the keys with us when we go outside, even just to take the garbage out!

June 1, 2013

And down she goes...

Stairs, that is! Natalie has gone down both sets of stairs in our house on her own for the first time. She faced forward and sat on her bottom and scootched down, placing her hand on the wall or the bannister where is was at her height.  She even managed to navigate around the corner on the upper level stairs. She started down on the right hand side, but when she got to the corner you could tell that she felt slightly insecure so she slide over to the left and continued on down around the corner.

Guess she can graduate to the toddler bed now. I wanted to make sure she knew how to handle the stairs before giving her a bed she could get out of easily.

When I was outside weeding this morning before the day heats up too much, I also watched her go down the slide on the swingset all by herself. She climbed up the steps, got herself in the right position with her legs out front and down she went!