We forgot to post a photo of Natalie last month on her monthly birthday, so today, for no extra charge, you get two photos of her.
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| January 29, 2013 - 16 months |
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| February 28, 2013 - 17 months |
February 28, 2013
Growin' in 2013
February 12, 2013
Moving on up!
Natalie moved up to the 2nd floor at day care today with the older kids. I am not sure what age of kids these encompass but she is big enough that she doesn't look out of place. Her friend Bobby did not also move upstairs. He is 2 days older than she is; I think I understood that he didn't move because he isn't a good eater.
Both girls are happy to have us home. Lexi has been a really good helper and continues to say the funniest things. This girl certainly has a dramatic streak and an amazing imagination.
Both girls are happy to have us home. Lexi has been a really good helper and continues to say the funniest things. This girl certainly has a dramatic streak and an amazing imagination.
February 2, 2013
Updates
No time, no time. No time to write so a quick update.
Stephen turns 40 a week from today so he and I are leaving on a cruise on Sunday to celebrate. His mom, plus an aunt plus a friend, will be here to watch the girls. We are looking forward to it and hope the girls will have fun as well.
Unfortunately, Natalie is sick. She threw up 4 times on Friday and while she hasn't thrown up today, she has only eaten a little and seems to just want to sleep. She definitely isn't her usual active self. I am going to feel bad leaving her if she is not well. I hope by Sunday midday she is at least acting a little more lively.
Lexi had a math test this week and it sounds like it went well. They are working on measurement. She really seems to be picking up reading and enjoys reading a different book that they send home from school everyday. She can get a bit frustrated when she doesn't know the word.
Stephen turns 40 a week from today so he and I are leaving on a cruise on Sunday to celebrate. His mom, plus an aunt plus a friend, will be here to watch the girls. We are looking forward to it and hope the girls will have fun as well.
Unfortunately, Natalie is sick. She threw up 4 times on Friday and while she hasn't thrown up today, she has only eaten a little and seems to just want to sleep. She definitely isn't her usual active self. I am going to feel bad leaving her if she is not well. I hope by Sunday midday she is at least acting a little more lively.
Lexi had a math test this week and it sounds like it went well. They are working on measurement. She really seems to be picking up reading and enjoys reading a different book that they send home from school everyday. She can get a bit frustrated when she doesn't know the word.
December 31, 2012
Another month, another year
First of all, a few days ago, on December 29, Natalie turned 15 months old. See what a big girl she's getting to be!
Sarah's sister, Miriam, spent Christmas with us in Iowa as well and came with her husband, Andy, and two daughters, Olivia and Nora. The cousins had a great time playing with each other, since they are close in age.
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| Nora, Olivia, Lexi and Natalie |
December 1, 2012
Where does the time go?
I have been super busy at work - no time for personal things - and our weekends and evening seem pretty full, too. Natalie lately seems really clinging and wants to be held for no reason that we can figure out. You can tell she is learning things by leaps and bounds though she still doesn't articulate/say any words, except Dad.
Here's some of the things Natalie is doing now.
-Natalie knows to put her arms in her coat sleeves when her coat comes out.
-Natalie seems to be shaking her head no at times
-She blows kisses, waves and gives high fives goodbye.
-She says "more" in sign language.
-Natalie understands when I tell her it is time to go upstairs to brush her teeth - she starts heading for the stairs.
-She is learning how to color (per her sister) - she definitely seems to be holding a crayon in the right grip. :)
-I saw her back down 3 steps - this has only happened once, but maybe she has got it.
-She walked up stairs holding mom's hand and was able to lift her foot high enough to get it onto the next step.
-When we are leaving, she knows to get her socks and shoes and bring them to mom or dad for help.
-When we come home, Natalie knows to take her coat off.
Lexi is learning to read. She read "food market" all by herself and she didn't even have to sound it out. She knows lots of what her school calls "sight words" and she reads a book each night from school. She does a really good job of reading though sometimes she does get frustrated.
Here's some of the things Natalie is doing now.
-Natalie knows to put her arms in her coat sleeves when her coat comes out.
-Natalie seems to be shaking her head no at times
-She blows kisses, waves and gives high fives goodbye.
-She says "more" in sign language.
-Natalie understands when I tell her it is time to go upstairs to brush her teeth - she starts heading for the stairs.
-She is learning how to color (per her sister) - she definitely seems to be holding a crayon in the right grip. :)
-I saw her back down 3 steps - this has only happened once, but maybe she has got it.
-She walked up stairs holding mom's hand and was able to lift her foot high enough to get it onto the next step.
-When we are leaving, she knows to get her socks and shoes and bring them to mom or dad for help.
-When we come home, Natalie knows to take her coat off.
Lexi is learning to read. She read "food market" all by herself and she didn't even have to sound it out. She knows lots of what her school calls "sight words" and she reads a book each night from school. She does a really good job of reading though sometimes she does get frustrated.
November 18, 2012
A million miles an hour
Natalie is definitely a walker now and hardly bothers to crawl. She falls down frequently but immediately gets herself back up on her feet. She handily crawls up stairs and just today managed to crawl down 3 stairs all by herself. We have been trying to show her but she hadn't really seemed to get it. Maybe she finally does.
Natalie zooms all over the place and can happily walk back and forth for what seems like hours. She also likes to take things out of boxes, off shelves, etc. She grips a crayon like she wants to draw but doesn't quite know how to push down consistently to actually get color on the paper. But she happily tries - and then walks around with the crayon until something grabs her attention and it gets dropped right there. We are finding things all over the place that aren't in the place that they belong.
It is so much fun to see her moving around and exploring. You can picture the wheels in her brain turning. Wherever we go out in public, people are admiring her and seem to love watching her toddle around. Children can so easily bring joy to others - regardless of whether they have children themselves or not.
Natalie did manage to fall today and somehow cut the inside of her gum. I didn't notice until I pulled her head away from my shoulder after she had mostly settled down and Lexi exclaimed that there was something on my shirt. She also cut her finger in a separate incident and didn't like having the bandaid on it so that was rather traumatic,too.
At snack time, I was getting things out of the fridge when Natalie saw the clear small container of leftover over macaroni and peas. It was at her level so she grabbed it and then took it to the table by her highchair. She knew she needed to get up there to be able to eat. It's amazing how kids learn these things. Of course, once she seemed to be done eating and I took the container and spoon away from her (she was playing with it), she had a major tantrum and just would not calm down. I finally just put her in her bed and left her for a while.
Natalie zooms all over the place and can happily walk back and forth for what seems like hours. She also likes to take things out of boxes, off shelves, etc. She grips a crayon like she wants to draw but doesn't quite know how to push down consistently to actually get color on the paper. But she happily tries - and then walks around with the crayon until something grabs her attention and it gets dropped right there. We are finding things all over the place that aren't in the place that they belong.
It is so much fun to see her moving around and exploring. You can picture the wheels in her brain turning. Wherever we go out in public, people are admiring her and seem to love watching her toddle around. Children can so easily bring joy to others - regardless of whether they have children themselves or not.
Natalie did manage to fall today and somehow cut the inside of her gum. I didn't notice until I pulled her head away from my shoulder after she had mostly settled down and Lexi exclaimed that there was something on my shirt. She also cut her finger in a separate incident and didn't like having the bandaid on it so that was rather traumatic,too.
At snack time, I was getting things out of the fridge when Natalie saw the clear small container of leftover over macaroni and peas. It was at her level so she grabbed it and then took it to the table by her highchair. She knew she needed to get up there to be able to eat. It's amazing how kids learn these things. Of course, once she seemed to be done eating and I took the container and spoon away from her (she was playing with it), she had a major tantrum and just would not calm down. I finally just put her in her bed and left her for a while.
October 30, 2012
Reaching new milestones
We are pleased to report that Natalie is walking - well, maybe 80 percent of the time. She is still a little wobbly, and her walking is often interrupted by tumbling forward or just deciding to bend down and crawl.
This is a shift in body for her and a shift in mindset for me. For a long time, I've been used to sitting at the computer at the desk in our dining room or being in the kitchen working on something and Natalie being in the other room and knowing that she wasn't going to be moving anywhere quickly (so we didn't have to watch her like a hawk). But now she suddenly appears - and then is suddenly gone again. Now she goes from me knowing she is somewhere else to me being surprised that she is suddenly next to me. She is quick on her feet.
Walking has also come with a new eagerness to climb stairs. She can go up them (crawling) fairly well, but we she doesn't want to be taught how to descend stairs, so we're still watching her carefully around them.
We are also pleased to see that Natalie has gotten her first molar in. She has all of her front teeth on the top and bottom, and so this is the first tooth for the back of her mouth. She still occasionally bites Sarah (for reasons we still can't figure out), so this new tooth is "the better to bite you with, my dear."
We are on the second and final day - hopefully - of "snow days" - all of us being home from work, school and day care, shut up in the house because of Hurricane Sandy. The city and federal government have basically shut down the city, and because of that, Sarah's and my workplace have been shut down. A shutdown of the D.C. public schools means that Lexi's school closes and Natalie's daycare closes.
We all woke up shortly after our usual wake-up time of 6:00 a.m. yesterday morning. By about 9:15, the kids already had a mild case of cabin fever. We're sure Natalie's new mobility has a lot to do with it. We ventured out to lunch to the Subway over near the Metro stop near our house. It's a walk of only a couple of blocks. We had a coupon to use, and it was just an excuse to get out of the house for a short time. As we were finishing up our lunch, they announced that they were closing for the day. On the way back, the wind caught Lexi's umbrella and knocked her over. We got a little wet, but it was a good change of scenery, if only briefly.
This morning Lexi has friend Lily over to play. Natalie is still going a bit stir-crazy, so we're all hopeful that we can go back to the routine tomorrow. We're sure Natalie enjoys daycare more than staying home with the rest of the family all day.
This is a shift in body for her and a shift in mindset for me. For a long time, I've been used to sitting at the computer at the desk in our dining room or being in the kitchen working on something and Natalie being in the other room and knowing that she wasn't going to be moving anywhere quickly (so we didn't have to watch her like a hawk). But now she suddenly appears - and then is suddenly gone again. Now she goes from me knowing she is somewhere else to me being surprised that she is suddenly next to me. She is quick on her feet.
Walking has also come with a new eagerness to climb stairs. She can go up them (crawling) fairly well, but we she doesn't want to be taught how to descend stairs, so we're still watching her carefully around them.
We are also pleased to see that Natalie has gotten her first molar in. She has all of her front teeth on the top and bottom, and so this is the first tooth for the back of her mouth. She still occasionally bites Sarah (for reasons we still can't figure out), so this new tooth is "the better to bite you with, my dear."
We are on the second and final day - hopefully - of "snow days" - all of us being home from work, school and day care, shut up in the house because of Hurricane Sandy. The city and federal government have basically shut down the city, and because of that, Sarah's and my workplace have been shut down. A shutdown of the D.C. public schools means that Lexi's school closes and Natalie's daycare closes.
We all woke up shortly after our usual wake-up time of 6:00 a.m. yesterday morning. By about 9:15, the kids already had a mild case of cabin fever. We're sure Natalie's new mobility has a lot to do with it. We ventured out to lunch to the Subway over near the Metro stop near our house. It's a walk of only a couple of blocks. We had a coupon to use, and it was just an excuse to get out of the house for a short time. As we were finishing up our lunch, they announced that they were closing for the day. On the way back, the wind caught Lexi's umbrella and knocked her over. We got a little wet, but it was a good change of scenery, if only briefly.
This morning Lexi has friend Lily over to play. Natalie is still going a bit stir-crazy, so we're all hopeful that we can go back to the routine tomorrow. We're sure Natalie enjoys daycare more than staying home with the rest of the family all day.
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