Natalie is 14 months old now (hints the title). She has a lot of energy and is so much fun!
She continues to be pretty aggressive with Scott. She climbs on him like he's a jungle gym.
She loves to squeal (usually at inappropriate times and places). She's jabbering a lot more and points like she's communicating. Scott sometimes tries to interpret..."I think she wants us to go downstairs and play." or "I think she said she wants to go outside."
Natalie is very much into phones these days! Many objects around the house are telephones in her mind. Not only does she like to pretend with her play phone, but she also has used a small book, Gumby, and a wet washcloth while in the tub for her "phone."
Below she is pictured attempting to throw a ball. The picture looks like she has it down. However, she gets to this step and then often loses it behind her.
We've made a few more trips to the pool.
She can say "Please!" in sign language. It's pretty hard to say no to this. :)
When she's not running at full speed, Natalie is a super sweetheart and can give great hugs. She likes to be held and loves to look at books. Her favorite song right now is the "Itsy Bitsy Spider." She can do the motions and gets a bit exaggerated on the "washed the spider out" part. She sings "La, la, la, la" when she wants to watch Elmo. She continues to absolutely refuse to be fed and eats everything on her own with her fingers. She's working on getting her molars and is sharing her pain with me at night. She dances a lot and loves to watch herself in the mirror.
We love, love, love our busy, baby girl!
Before I forget, here are a few of Scott lines as of late...Scott: Mom, are you old?Me: WHAT?! (Feeling a little sensitive about my upcoming 30th birthday!)Scott: Are you old?Me: Why do you ask that?Scott: What are those? (As he pointed to my leg.)Me: That's called a spider vein. (Thank you, Pregnancy #2.)Scott: Oh! (GREAT) Grandma Joyce has spider veins on her legs, too.
I don't cook as much as I would like to. One of these days, I'm going to turn into Julia Child, Martha Stewart, Gretchen J. ...someone like that! :) Anyway...as I was pulling the instant mashed potatoes out of the microwave the other night, Scott exclaimed, "Oooh, Mom! You're making a feast!" I guess if you're used to peanut butter sandwiches, a three food meal (chicken, peas, and mashed potatoes!) is considered quite a feast in the mind of a three year old. :)
Scott: Mom, I think we should take a break from hugging. (Said in the middle of a hug.)Scott ran up to me while I was vacuuming last week to get my attention. I turned the vacuum off and he said, "Mom, I like you. Do you like me?"Jon and I recently celebrated our sixth wedding anniversary. We were explaining to Scott what the word "anniversary" meant. Scott replied, "I wish I could marry Natalie." We'll have to remind him of this comment when he's older.
Scott was asking me a question the other day while I was in the midst of a project. I was ignoring him for a moment and Scott snapped, "MOM! Be friendly! Talk to people whenever they say something to you!" (Scott been reminded of this several times, so he tried to apply it to this situation, as well.)Scott: OWW!! I...I...I...(searching hard for the right words)..ate my teeth!Me: You mean you bit your tongue?Scott: Yeah.Scott was helping me mix something on the rug (the spot where we often bake together). He got a little wild with his stirring and spilled some on the rug. In response to his spill he said, "Oops! This is a messy job. We better wear our aprons."
We were pulling out of the driveway on our way to Meijer. Scott exclaimed, "Oh, Mom! I forgot to tell you to bring your grocery list!" I reassured him that I already had it. He often "reminds" me to do things.The other day I heard much squealing and giggling coming from the other room. I then heard Scott yell, "Mom! Get your camera!" (He didn't have to tell me twice!)How we love our little stinker!
Okay...so last week, Natalie was instigating trouble and was rough housing with Scott. Scott seemed to be enjoying it. 
I then started to feel sorry for Scott and thought that perhaps I should take the kids outside to let them expel energy in a better way. They had played hard for 30 minutes, and Natalie was taking her final run down the driveway when she did a leap into the air and landed head first on the asphalt. OUCH!!!!
Needless to say, we both felt pretty crummy after that. 
Scott was concerned about his sister, but didn't know how to express it. I overheard him that night pretending that all of his engines were hurt. At one point, he said, "I don't want Natalie to come over here with that thing on her forehead!" I said, "Does it make you feel sad for her?" He replied, "No...it makes me disappointed." ?!?!?!
Here's Miss Natalie 2 days later...looking much better, I thought. I decided to put a cute pink bow in her hair on Sunday to help distract from her face. It didn't work. She got several comments at church (not about her pretty bow). 
We are so thankful that it wasn't worse. I'm sure this will be the first of many big bruises. Perhaps I should look into purchasing bigger, cuter bows. :) 
Jon and Scott went to see some fireworks the other night. Scott, who rarely naps, fell asleep on the way home from a family gathering. He slept from 2:00ish to 5:00! Three hours! Perfect for staying up late to see the fireworks. I thought he would be easy to impress when I took him out on the porch to see if we could see any from our home. With much enthusiasm, he exclaimed, "OH! Look, Mom! A robin!" A few seconds later, he pointed up and cheerfully said, "OH! I see the moon, too!" I thought then that fireworks would definitely be a hit.
Jon said that he explained to Scott that there would be loud "BOOMS" but that it would be fun. Jon said that as soon as they arrived, Scott clamped his little hands over his ears and remained like that despite any attempt to convince him that the fireworks wouldn't start for several more minutes. At the end, he said that he liked it, but we both think he may have been a bit traumatized. He was more than ready to come back home to his bed (and bear friend).
They thought it was great fun to sit on the keyboard and hear the funny booms and noises that it made. When Scott found the "auto music play" button, Natalie couldn't help but to dance. 
A few times lately, Scott has referred to Natalie as "your daughter" which makes me laugh. Bringing me a book, he would say, "Do you think your daughter would like this book?" Or..."Would you and your daughter like to come in my room?" 
A new favorite pastime for Natalie...and no, I'm not referring to the reading part. It is not uncommon for us to hear booms coming from the room with the bookshelf followed by occasional growls when they land on her toes. 
She looks a lot older than 13 months in this picture. A little girl asked me the other day if she was a toddler. I started to say that she was a baby, but then had to agree that she's turning into quite the little toddler.
Natalie is 14 months old now (hints the title). She has a lot of energy and is so much fun!
She continues to be pretty aggressive with Scott. She climbs on him like he's a jungle gym.
She loves to squeal (usually at inappropriate times and places). She's jabbering a lot more and points like she's communicating. Scott sometimes tries to interpret..."I think she wants us to go downstairs and play." or "I think she said she wants to go outside."
Natalie is very much into phones these days! Many objects around the house are telephones in her mind. Not only does she like to pretend with her play phone, but she also has used a small book, Gumby, and a wet washcloth while in the tub for her "phone."
Below she is pictured attempting to throw a ball. The picture looks like she has it down. However, she gets to this step and then often loses it behind her.
We've made a few more trips to the pool.
She can say "Please!" in sign language. It's pretty hard to say no to this. :)
When she's not running at full speed, Natalie is a super sweetheart and can give great hugs. She likes to be held and loves to look at books. Her favorite song right now is the "Itsy Bitsy Spider." She can do the motions and gets a bit exaggerated on the "washed the spider out" part. She sings "La, la, la, la" when she wants to watch Elmo. She continues to absolutely refuse to be fed and eats everything on her own with her fingers. She's working on getting her molars and is sharing her pain with me at night. She dances a lot and loves to watch herself in the mirror.
We love, love, love our busy, baby girl!
