Natalie at 17 Months

I've done a lot of Timmy posts lately, so I think it's time for a Natalie themed post. She's growing up so quickly and is so clever and funny.

She is definitely more of a thinker than a talker, but she is starting to say some new words. I've been trying to think of all the words she can say and some that pop out to me are: mama, dada, grandma, grandpa, jump, shake, dog, brother, baby, baba (yo gabba gabba, haha), brobee, timmy, love you...though most of these words don't sound like what they are supposed to sound like. Timmy started out as may-may but is now bay-bay.

She is a CLIMBER. This girl will climb anything and she's good at it too. She does get hurt a lot, but it's not usually from climbing. She has busted her lip open a couple times in the last few days, but it was from falling off the bed while she was climbing down the right way!

Natalie is a lover. She is so affectionate and loves to surprise people with hugs and kisses. She loves to wear tutus and skirts and hats but also loves to strip all of her clothes off. When I went to pick her up from Baby Bay yesterday, she was halfway out of her dress. She's also really catching on to dressing herself. She can get shirts on over her head but needs help with the sleeves and she can pull her pants on but needs help pulling them up. She hates socks and always pulls them off so even though it's winter, she is usually barefoot.

She's an eater! She will eat just about anything you put in front of her and she eats a lot at one time. She loves food! Right now she is not picky at all, unlike her big brother who won't touch most food.

She rarely smiles for pictures so most people assume she is very serious - which she can be - but she is quite the little comedienne. She is goofy and loves to babble these long stories complete with facial expressions and her hands flying everywhere to make a point. She is very expressive and emotional.

She has an attitude already, though, and is quickly approaching the terrible twos. She has thrown tantrums and gets very mad when things don't go how she wants. She screeches and whines with the best of 'em.

As far as hobbies go, this little girl is going to be an artist. She loves to color and draw and will sit with a pen and a piece of paper for an hour. She doesn't just color or draw though; she holds the pen properly and does tiny, intricate little circles and shapes and scribbles.

But most of all, she loves her Babba. Yo! Gabba Gabba is her life. She eats, sleeps, and breathes this show. Never interrupt her while Babba is on and never take away one of her best Babba stuffed friends. She deserves to be on the show as one of the dancing kids.

Envy.

I have spent so much of my life being envious of other people. Other people have more friends, are prettier, wear nicer clothes, drive better cars, live in bigger houses, are more popular, are more successful, have cameras I want...but tonight I came to the realization that there is so much that other people might be envious of me for and I am totally blowing it off and taking it all for granted.

One thing might be my husband. Maybe not Chris specifically, but maybe that I am in a very loving, long-lasting relationship with a man that has always treated me better than I deserve. He's an awesome husband and an awesome daddy and I've been blessed to have been with him for almost ten years. Some people dream of finding that perfect someone and never find it, or maybe they found it but it didn't last.

Another thing - and this is a biggy - is my children. I've been blessed with not just one child, but two children, the "perfect" boy followed by a girl, and despite being a surprise, a third baby on the way. I'm realizing that as I'm finding myself losing it with my kids several times a day, there are women who long to be able to yell at their kids and go through the exhaustion and sickness of pregnancy. Some women never experience being a mother to a little boy and I have one and others never experience being a mother to a little girl, and I have one of those too. Some women never experience being a mother at all and it's all they ever dream of being and here I am complaining to myself that I threw up yet again just from changing a diaper.

So while I may not be as smart, pretty, confident, popular, or successful as some women, I have a pretty awesome life and the most amazing family anyone could ask for and I need to buck up and quit complaining so much about the little annoyances that I deal with on a regular basis. It's time to stop thinking the grass is greener elsewhere and enjoy the snow-covered grass I have right in my own backyard.

Timmyism #7 (and beyond)

As I type this, Timmy is sitting in the chair next to me absolutely annoying the crap out of me. He is supposed to be napping right now and instead of napping he is bouncing off the walls, wired on some sort of Kid Juice. He didn't fall asleep 'til around 10pm last night (too much excitement outside) and was up at 4am coughing and wide awake as can be. Natalie is napping and Timmy will not stop talking, fake-hiccuping and coughing, and making animal noises. Why is it when I specifically ask him to the quiet for rest time he is louder than when it's okay for him to be up and around and playing!?

Anyway, he's still full of silly things to say, so I thought I'd share some again.

[one] Last night while we were putting laundry away, Timmy found his toy phone and had a conversation after I told him his phone was ringing:

"Hello? Who dere? No thank you. I need a pizza. Yeah I want pepperoni. Okay. Bye."

He gets done ordering his pizza and goes into our room to pick it up and brings back his imaginary pizza to share with us.

[two] This last week he has been really been lovin' on his sister. They walk through the house together holding hands and Timmy says he is taking her for a walk to go visit Daddy. He tries to pick her up and carry her and hugs her to the point that she gets upset. Of course, this is in between all the hitting, pushing, and biting.