20 Months

Another month has come and gone, and our little ladybug is 20 months old!

*We went to the Maple Leaf Festival in Baldwin City on her 20 month birthday, so that's where these pictures came from...*

Doesn't she look so big?!?

She is doing a lot of new things this month...and although my blog has fallen by the wayside with the busy-ness of life - I can't skip a month of documenting her and her precious changes. 

Her vocabulary is growing and growing.  She has taken to calling me "Mommy" instead of "Mama", which is music to my ears.  She makes us laugh with the other expressions that she's been using lately....instead of "yes", she says "yeah".  So when we ask her a question, she will reply "Yeah, Mommy" or "Yeah, Daddy".  So funny. 

She is putting other words together to say phrases, like "More, please", "Love you" (luh-you), and "No way".  She is saying her name (Na-na-ee) and can also repeat the names of all family members.  This month I was sitting and watching Sesame Street with her and they were saying each letter of the alphabet and flashing a picture of it on the screen.  Without prompting, after they said each letter, she repeated it.  The whole alphabet.  All 26 letters.  While I sat there in shock.  Since then, we've been pointing to the alphabet cards hanging on the wall in her room and saying the names of the letters and looking at the pictures on each one.  She loves it!  She also still adores books and being read too, and can sit still through a whole story.  She likes to watch movies like Finding Nemo and Toy Story. 

Speaking of Sesame Street, she has a slight major obsession with Elmo.  She says his name all the time, and when he is on TV she started to dance around in circles and clap her hands and laugh.  We have one Elmo book, but no Elmo toys or anything, so I think I know what will be on her Christmas list! :)  Isn't the little Halloween Elmo shirt so perfect for her?  I spied it at Target and couldn't leave without it!

She is developing a sweet tooth!  With Halloween coming up, I've given her little tastes of M&Ms and she loves them of course.  At the end of dinner she will yell "Coooooo-kieeee" until we give her a graham cracker.  She loves vanilla pudding just like her Daddy.  She still doesn't like ice cream - too cold, I think?

This month brought some sickness and two teeth coming in - which meant a very, very, fussy and cranky little girl.  We had about two weeks straight of dinner meltdowns, bedtime battles, constant whining, and tantrum-throwing.  Luckily, in the past week, she is back to her happy self, which is a huge relief.  I missed that!

Natalie is still loving to be a helper.  She has been trying to put her own clothes on....and can usually get her legs into her pants, but that's about it. :) She likes to sweep with the broom, put things in the trash, carry things for me, and do anything in the kitchen that involves dumping, stirring, pounding, etc.  She helps load up her diaper bag in the morning.  If I tell her to take something to her room, the kitchen, the bathroom - she can follow through on that. 

She LOVES to be outside!  She would play outdoors from morning til night if she could.  She will often wander around the backyard and explore while Mark mows or does other yard work.  She likes to pick up sticks, throw the ball for Harley, or put various things in her mouth. :-\

It makes me laugh how much she flirts with people!  She will drop her head down and then look up from under those long eyelashes and smile like crazy....or lean her head over to the side on her shoulder and shrug!  She does it to herself in the mirror, too.  After she gets dressed in the morning and I fix her hair, I tell her "Go show Daddy how pretty you are," and she runs to find Daddy and just grins at him and twirls around while he gushes over his beautiful girl.  He'll say things like "You gorgeous thing!" or "Look at you, hot stuff!" or "Hi there, pretty girl!"  Seriously sweet.  Those two together are just my favorite thing.

These days she's mostly playing with her Little People Barn set, stacking blocks, her baby dolls, and anything and everything that she's not supposed to have (my keys, Daddy's phone, a box of Kleenex, pens & markers).  She does really like to color in her coloring book.  I haven't been brave enough to try any finger painting or anything.

I just love, love, LOVE this little thing more than words can say.  Looking forward to the next month with carving pumpkins, Halloween, and a much anticipated Thanksgiving Break.  And can I just say that I think Christmas will be lots of fun this year. :)

Thanks for reading!