Our happy, growing girl has changed so much in the last short month. She now crawls FORWARDS---a huge relief after only crawling backwards for several months. meh. she got where she needed to go. she's pulling up on people and things. walking will be here soon! she was evaluated for her age after her one year checkup and is doing above average on all her skills---especially verbal. not sure if that jabber mouth is from momma or daddy ;)
she loves feeding herself and will sneak the spoon away from mom if i stray away from her high chair. sometimes the food even makes it IN her mouth. ha! i've let school start feeding her some of the big kid food since any day she will transition to the one and two year old class. goldfish crackers one day. graham crackers another. no big deal. then on her take home sheet i see----hush puppy? chicken nugget? sigh...i'm having to give up on my homemade, organic, pure goodness foods. but i keep telling myself that she eats at our house twice a day and daycare twice (plus a snack) and i will just do the best i can (healthy wise) when she is with us. i'm sure i'll be the one driving through for a happy meal any month now :)
she suddenly seems taller, heavier, her hair seems longer. she's a vibrant, happy baby girl! if one word summed up her 13th month it would be "energy!" she doesn't stop until her head hits the crib. here are a few videos of natalie in action this month.
oh my goodness. it's hard to even type this. i'm so SO happy. but so emotional. it is just hard to believe my little baby girl is one whole entire year old! will i feel like this EVERY year?
as many of you know, natalie couldn't wait to get here. i went in for my 32 week appointment feeling a little tired but good. the doc said i looked good and natalie looked great. she suggested i do some blood work just for fun. two hours later she called me to say my blood work was bad. my liver enzymes were skyrocketed and my blood platelets were crashed. BUT I FEEL FINE i told her. she said to come check in to the hospital. i couldn't process it. i think i sat there and worked another half hour or so before packing up my things, calling mike, and driving to the hospital. i was so scared for my little chick. i remember texting my smart, wonderful friend kerri who works in a NICU to ask if at 32weeks natalie would be okay. she will be great, she assured me. she said she saw 32 week babies all the time. i don't think she can ever know how much peace she gave me with a few button pushes on a phone.
and she WAS great! tiny, just under four pounds, but healthy.
oh we hated those tubes! natalie and her mom and dad. and then one day, about 5 weeks later...they came out!
and we got to hold her tube free. well, still with oxygen meter and lots of check ins from nurses. but we felt more and more like "real parents." another week or two later...we got to take her home!
this has been an amazing year. i have been more tired than i have ever been. more happy than i have ever been. more scared. more proud. i didn't know you could love someone as much as i love her. there have never been bluer eyes. a sweeter smile. a cuter laugh. there has never been a fuzzy head of hair that smells as sweet.
we got to celebrate her day early with some family. nothing like a homemade grandma cake, right?
i wasn't sure how she'd react to the cake.....she's more of a veggie / fruit girl.
she liked the cake...
the icing..... not so much.
happy birthday sweet baby!
here is a video her uncle jacob made of her first year. i get a lump in my throat every time i watch it---- you've been warned!
Mike and I were talking last night and couldn't decide if it feels like two months or two years since we brought Natalie home. Some days it feels like she is getting so big so fast and changing so much even daily. Just look at her! Isn't she the sassiest, stylin'est kid you've ever seen? She is the best dressed Harper in Jenks, America. She got several fun toys for Christmas that were perfect for her age and stage. Things she can open and close, stack and knock over, things that play music....who am I kidding. EVERYTHING plays music! Here was a pretty perfect Sunday morning: coffee and cookbook for mom, toys for Nat. She has four (4!) teeth, two snaggles on bottom and two big ole toofs on top---and she isn't afraid to use them. My shoulder and Mike's arms have the fang marks to prove it! She has also developed a goofy crooked sideways grin which means, "I don't want to be doing this right now but I'll grin at you if you'll just back away slowly and put that camera down."
Just days before the BIGGEST SNOWSTORM EVER was a perfect 70 degree day. We took Natalie to the park for the first time. She didn't love it. The swing was "meh."
So we took in some rays instead. Maybe the park will sound more fun when we can run around proper. She is crawling backwards at full speed but still no effort to go forward. She can hold on to things and is trying to scoot along things like coffee tables and foot stools but no real interest in in walking. Hey, more exercise for mom and dad!
Her first birthday is at the end of February. Crazy! And for those wondering just what to get her--- think CHEAP! Her current favorite activities include shaking a pop bottle full of confetti and dried beans and pushing around ice cubes.
I've already gotten all blubbery going through photos for a special one year old post later this month so I'll leave you with this sweet photo of the day we got to take her home in April 2010. We had to stuff her car seat with blankets she was so tiny!
And here she is today, such a big girl with her buddy, dad.
I have been a very bad blogger this fall but I assure you that little Miss Natalie Claire is doing fantastic! She had her nine month appointment in November weighing in at 16.5 pounds and was 24 inches long (I think. I'm bad with all these numbers). Still petite but growing great! The doctor was very happy with her. She has her first tooth, is sitting up on her own and is just minutes away from crawling. For now she scoots backwards in a circle. Ha!
Here she is celebrating my birthday.
This month Natalie and I went to the Jenks Christmas parade. We saw floats, horses, cheerleaders...she really liked the cheerleaders. Maybe this will be Natalie one day?
She hasn't sat on Santa's lap but she did see him in the parade. She wasn't too impressed. Neither was the kid who fell asleep next to him apparently!
I asked a stranger to take our picture. He took about five and yet....these were the best shots.
At least you can tell we are both there!? We also visited Philbrook Museum's annual Festival of the Trees and Garden Glow. Here we are looking at the crazy decorated Christmas trees.
And the lit garden. It was a warm night and we had fun walking around.
We also had family photos made. Here is just a sample.
She will be a year old before we know it (WHAAA!!!!) We couldn't love this sweet girl more. Here is her signature sleeping move--hands thrown behind her head. Love her!
Watch as she pushes, squirms and attempts to crawl!
And what's this there!? Is that an annoyingly happy sunshine? Watch as Natalie shows that sun who's boss. Has she been defeated!? No, that's just her fake roll away! Now she's back to claim victory over the sunshine!
She's cute, she's cuddly, and she can squeeeeeeal much, much louder than you.
today is it....natalie claire starts month number 8! she is growing and changing every day as any visitor will tell you. when people haven't seen her in a while they are very surprised. she is so sturdy, getting lots of chub, and her personality keeps getting sweeter and sweeter.
at school, the teachers say she is one of the most verbal chatting with her friends. in fact, they said when the smaller babies don't answer her back she gets a little miffed. she likes to mimic going and forth "talking." she has started a high pitched squeal that's very cute. she also thinks blowing raspberries is pretty funny. me and mike have had to change shirts (hers and ours) more than once lately from all the slobbery fun!
she smiles all the time, wakes up happy, and is content to play by herself these days. of course she loves mom or dad to lay with her and "talk" while she kicks and plays. but she has also mastered rolling....barrel rolling! so while we have to watch her very close, she can also roll to reach toys, watch mom cook or see who's winning when dad is watching a game on tv.
we also have started solid foods adding a new fruit or veggie every 3 or 4 days. likes: prunes, apples, zucchini. kind of likes: avocado, banana hates: PEAS. we've also been working with a sippy cup. she can get it to her mouth...tipping it to drink is harder. she's getting there!
it isn't all easy of course. she has reached a new pitch of crying i like to call "blood curdling." she has learned that crying while screaming "MAAAA MAAA" gets things done more quickly. she is fighting bed time more and more. but despite all the hard moments there are so many happy ones.
