When I first went back to work last spring, we were so lucky to find the wife of a Kellogg student to take care of Natalie. Although I know I talked about them a little, I’m not sure if I ever properly introduced Amanda (the mom) and Gretchen, her adorable daughter who turned 1 in April, so she’s about 8.5 mo. older than Natalie.
Natalie loves both Amanda and Gretchen. Amanda taught me so many things about being a mom – I’m forever grateful. And, Natalie just loved watching Gretchen do EVERYTHING. We thought her first roll would be on accident – after straining to see what little Ms. Gretchen was up to.
After the summer in Minneapolis for Amanda’s husband’s internship, Amanda and Gretchen are back in Evanston. They came over last week to play. Natalie was thrilled! She let out a couple yelps of joy and kept on looking at me, as to say “Mom, they’re here! Yeah! What a wonderful surprise – thank you!”
Oh my gosh, Gretchen. What are you playing with? Can I play with it too? You are so cool.
Look closely – you can see that Natalie’s entire body is tensed up, as she’s excited to see what Gretchen was up to. Natalie was exhausted, trying to keep up with Gretchen, so she fell asleep on the stroller ride home (about 2 minutes after this picture was taken). Falling right back in, Amanda picked her up when we got home and Natalie cuddled up on her, as Amanda took her upstairs. I got to carry Gretchen, who is lighter than Natalie and has so much more body control – what a treat, up our 2 flights of stairs.
Hey girlfriend!!!
It was also fun to see what Gretchen, at about 17 mo, is up to. I loved the pitter patter of feet all over the house – a sign of things to come! So fun.
Amanda and Gretchen, thanks for visiting us in the City – come again soon!!!