Happy 2.5 years, Natalie!

Natalie is now 2 and a half (which she will tell you sometimes, too cute).  She turned 2.5 on Elliott’s 3-mo “birthday,” but her doc appt wasn’t until the next week, so here it goes!

Height/Weight: 32 lbs (75th percentile, down from the 90th percentile at the 2-yr appt) / 35.5 inches (50th percentile).

Don’t you just love the outfit she wore to the doc’s office for her check-up?  A crown – which she got at school for her friend’s birthday.  Her special “NanaPop” dress shoes (guess who bought them?)  She was extremely excited to go to the doc’s office – in part because we read Corduroy goes to the Doctor before we went.  When I picked her up from preschool, she asked if we could go to the doctor’s office “right now”.  She also asked why we had to leave at the end of the appointment.

Ha - my crown looks especially silly in this silly mirror!

Personality: Silly.  Incredibly Enthusiastic.  Opinionated.  Caring.  Outgoing.

Favorite Activities: Riding bikes at school or with Dad.  Playing with water (swimming,water balloons, etc.)  Walking on “balance beams” (aka any porch or ledge).  Baking (and eating the fruits of her labor).  Playing “kitchen” – sharing cookies, decorating cupcakes, taking things in/out of the oven/microwave, using hotpads (preferably the blue one).  Talking on “phones” (doc phone, kitchen phone, etc).  Singing – she’s started doing a lot more impromptu songs herself.  Taking care of Baby Ellie.  Going to the Zoo (rhino, lion and camels are her favs).  Playing with friends. Playing with Nana-Pop, Grandma-Grandpa, and Alex-Aunt Jira.  (All pairs.)  Running.

You have a baby in your tummy? (Real quote)

Why am I wearing this paper hat and garbage bag? What does graduation mean?

Milestones: Tons of Talking.  At the 2 year update, I wrote that she said a lot of full sentences like: “No go bye bye,” “I want that,” “Shh… baby sleeping,” “What happened?” “I got Dora,” “Here Daddy”, “I want to go down Mommy”, and “I want to see Mommy” (gotta love that one!).  Now, it’s full-on conversations, with explanations.  There’s a lot of “becauses”.  She asks WHY a lot.  These conversations can be quite long and 50% of the time, end up in me saying “God made it that way” or “God is love,” as I don’t have anything left to share.  She can count to 10 in Spanish and English.

Natalie also is really good at letter recognition – this isn’t just me talking, even her teachers have commented.  At the very least, she knows: B (Becky), C (Caroline), D (Dado), E (Edmund and Elliott), G (Grandma and Grandpa), K (Kieran), M (Mama), N (Natalie and Nana), O (Owen), P (Poppy), R (Riley), S (Shiloh, Saba), T (Trevor), Z (Zachary).  Natalie spotted “S for Shiloh” on the “balance beam” outside our house.  And, yes, she’s wearing her swimsuit just for the fun of it.

S for Shiloh!

Funny/Cute Things she Says or has Said:

• “Privacy, please” (A more polite version of “Go Away”.)
• “Maybe tomorrow” (As in, maybe she’ll give me a kiss tomorrow!)
• A request to the lion at the zoo…. “Can your roar at me and Mama?”
• About her brother… “He put his arm around me because he loves me”
• “Where’s my Paci?” (In your mouth, Natalie!)
• “Because I like it”

Things Natalie is Thankful for: Dora, Bella (the whale from Shedd Aquarium) and Mama. (Jordan thinks Bella could have been brother but she was wearing her Bella dress, when I asked so I’m not so sure)

Favorite Color:  Blue – any and all shades.  Esp. light blue.

Favorite Song: Bob Marley’s “Three Birds” (This sometimes resets her when crabby, so we’ve been known to play it on repeat)

Favorite Show: Dora – or the Slideshow.  (Usually reserved for times when I am feeding Elliott and therefore, highly immobile)

Exasperating Things that I just have to Laugh at: Natalie likes to travel with an entourage (even if its just to her bedroom or the kitchen).  When I shared a bed with her in Green Bay, she complained that I was “hurting” her and she didn’t have enough space.  Please note, she was in the middle of the double bed, with Baby Ellie, Dora, and Boots lined up to her left and me squished on her right!  Another time, when I was feeding Elliott and reading her a book at the same time, I asked her if she could hold the book… she explained that she couldn’t “because I have two mouseys and Baby Ellie.”

All I need now is my milk.......

Favorite Foods: Peanut butter and jelly, grilled cheese, strawberries, cheese, protein shakes, milk, cupcakes.  Hummus has turned out to be a good way to increase the veggie intake!

Favorite Books: The Seven Silly Eaters by Hoberman and Corduroy are topping the list as of late.  Other favs include “Chicago” and “Tiny Bear.”

Natalie is a joy-filled, silly, super fun, caring little girl, and we are just so lucky to be able to spend every day with her!  I absolutely love being her Mom.  Jordan loves being her Dad.  And Elliott loves being her little brother.  Praise God!