Natalie has new surprises for us everyday!

She has started waiving hello and bye bye! We noticed it when playing with some of her toys, we would wave bye bye to the animals as we shut their doors... and now she is a pro!

She has also got very good at giving kisses!! She had kind of given them before, but now she knows exactly what it means to give kisses. And, she will only give out kisses on her own terms, lol!! We will ask for kisses, and if she is in the mood she will lean into our face and give us kisses, they are sometimes a little slobbery but we love them!! Yesterday I had been trying to get kisses from her all morning, but she wasn't giving me any... until... we shared a snack, and then Natalie handed me a book to read to her and as I started reading she leaned in and gave me a kiss. Now I know this was probably a coincidence, but it was so cute and it made my day!! In my last blog I told everyone Natalie had officially taken her first steps... well now all she does is walk!! I haven't seen her crawl in quite a few days. Its adorable to see her wobbling from place to place!

We decided to let Natalie try finger painting. She loves to swirl her food around on her highchair tray so we thought it would be perfect for her! She did awesome with it! She never even tried to eat the paint!! She finished her 1st painting and seemed to be having fun so I had her paint another one, they are so cute! I took a picture of the 1st painting, but by time I thought about it the 2nd painting was already in an envelope ready to mail... Surprisingly they actually looked pretty different. The 2nd painting I mailed to my mom, and she had a great idea... frame them! They are Natalie's 1st pieces of art she has done on her own!

On Tuesday I went to the dentist expecting to get a couple fillings, well the cavities were pretty bad so the dentist ended up doing a crown on one and a root canal on the other (they started the root canal, I go back next week for them to finish). Anyways, so I get home and about 2 hours later the temporary crowns fall off!! I couldn't believe it! So I called my dentist and their office was closed so they sent me to another one of their offices. It was a little far and we had to rush to get there before they closed. So, we decided to leave Natalie home and have Uncle Tyler babysit. This was the 1st time someone other than a grandparent babysat... Natalie did great (and so did Uncle Ty). She sees him often enough that she has become very comfortable with him. And she even let him feed her dinner, which was a huge surprise to me because she normally only lets me or Charlie feed her. Its nice to know we have a babysitter that Natalie loves right here in San Diego!!

Playing with mixing bowls...

...bang, bang, bang...

Sooo much fun!

It was so noisy, but Natalie loved it!!

Happy girl!

I guess she wanted to see what was under the paper...

nothing.

Making her pretty painting...

Showing off her artwork...

Finished painting...

Uncle Ty feeding Natalie dinner...

Yum Yum!

We took so many pictures... thats how surprised we were!

Yesterday I took Natalie outside to play with bubbles in our backyard, she didn't really seem to enjoy them... We have a machine that blows the bubbles and it is actually made for the bathtub, but its a little noisy and blows the bubbles pretty fast so it was a little scary in the tub. I thought having it outside might help, but she still wasn't a fan. She also wasn't in the greatest mood, she was a little crabby because she was tired.

Natalie has officially taken her 1st steps! She has been kind of walking for the past couple months, but I didn't really consider them her 1st steps because she would fall over pretty quickly. But yesterday she walked about 4 feet across the room!! I thought she was going to fall over, but she just kept coming to me. So even though she is still crawling for the most part, she can walk!! I took a video of her shortly after that, and will try and figure out how to post it on here.

Another big milestone for Natalie is her 1st word... she has been making sounds for awhile but since they were just random I didn't count them as actual words. As much as I hate to admit this, I think I'm going to have to, her 1st word is "dada". The past 3 days or so she has been saying "mama" a lot. She still doesn't associate the words with us, but I think she is starting to realize who is who. She says "dada" a lot, but mostly when Charlie is around.

Natalie loves to play!! She will play with us by handing us her toys and then wants us to hand them back to her, I think thats her favorite thing to play with us. She still loves her books, she has stopped eating them as much (although not completely) and enjoys flipping through the pages. Recently her favorites are Good Night Gorilla and her Corduroy's Trick-or-Treat (she doesn't seem to care its a Halloween book, lol).

She has also learned to throw tantrums! I thought she was a little young for this, but apparently not. She mostly does it when we put her down and she doesn't want to be. She will throw herself backwards (usually on her knees) and then proceed to cry. Even though this is a behavior I'm sure we'll soon not like, at the moment its still kind of cute...

Not too sure what to think of the bubbles...

Watching them pop

She doesn't look too happy that her shoe is coming off.

Playing

Walking on her knees!! Hilarious!!

1st time I have seen her do this!

Still walking on her knees...

The bubbles were turned off,

and now she is just playing in the grass.

Not sure why, but she doesn't look too happy here...

Playing with the grass...

And then eating it...

Easter weekend was great, my parents came out to celebrate Natalie's 1st Easter with us. Saturday afternoon we went to a park near our house to get Natalie's picture taken with the Easter bunny. Then on Sunday my mom and me made Easter lunch for everyone... although she did most the work :) Natalie got 2 Easter baskets, one from the Easter bunny and one from Grandma and Grandpa. Natalie had a lot of fun with her baskets. This morning we took my parents to the airport, it always seems like their trips are too short! Even though Natalie doesn't get to see my parents as often as I would like, I'm still glad they aren't too far away so they can easily come visit, even if its just for the weekend. She did really good with my parents, my mom was able to hold her more than Natalie has let her in the past, and she even played with my dad a little which was a big step for her! Natalie got money for Easter so we went shopping for her, she got lots of new toys and so far they have kept her very entertained!

We did feel the earthquake yesterday, it was about 45 seconds long and it was the strongest one we have ever felt. Natalie didn't even notice it though, so that was good. As soon as it started we went outside (along with most our neighbors) and the truck in front of our house was shaking! It was crazy!

Next month is Natalie's 1st birthday, I can't believe my little girl is almost 1!! Today I got the invitations for her birthday, I'm so excited for her to have a party and have her very own birthday cake!!

Natalie and Daddy in line to see the Easter Bunny...

Natalie playing in the grass for the 1st time.

She seemed very interested in it :)

Natalie and Uncle Ty

Natalie and the Easter Bunny!!

Mommy joined in!

Natalie in her Easter dress

Finding what the Easter Bunny brought her

Natalie and her bunny ears

So happy!!!

Family picture!

Natalie finding her basket from Grandma and Grandpa

Trying to open her basket...

Playing

My mom got all of us baskets...

We are never too old!

Natalie and Grandma

Natalie with her seahorse from Grandma and Grandpa

Showing daddy her money from Grandma and Grandpa

Happy girl!

Posing for the camera!

Just after waking up from nap

Easter lunch served on a plate...

... we didn't expect it to stay there!

Our princess in her 3rd outfit of the day!

Precious!

Hiding in the corner with her headband!

She is so funny!!

This is Charlie's idea...