October Adventures!

In other Natalie news: Her newest thing is that she is learning how to throw things...look out!...haha! She has these squishy blocks that she likes to throw. She is starting to wave bye-bye every once in awhile. She still doesn't show much interest in standing or walking on her own yet...I think she is proving to be much more into her verbal skills than in her physical skills. But she is pretty speedy when it comes to cruising around the furniture!

Oct 3 ~ We had our first open house today! Our realtor thought it went well, and she will be doing some follow-up with a few people who seemed interested in our home. Craig, Nat, and I had some family time while our house was being shown. We went to the mall for lunch and ice-cream. We also browsed the children's section of Barnes and Noble...Craig bought Nat 2 new board books and she loves looking at them again and again! We also took her over to the park to play on the swings for awhile.

Oct 6 ~ Today was Hearts In Touch group at church. Natalie only made it halfway through the session before they brought her in to me from the nursery. She just doesn't seem to be enjoying the infant room...I think it may be because it is such a tight space, they seem to be understaffed, and it makes her sad to see the other babies cry. I kind of wish I could just put her in the 18+ month room since she loves the company of older kids, but it may not be fair to even ask.

In the evening it was time to go to my Bloomington High School 10 year reunion! Craig and I met up with Sara & Shad Emberton, Erin & Michael Jensen, Lindsay Davison & Eric Hughes, and Christi Rock for dinner at Alexander's Steakhouse before the big event. Us girls spent a fair amount of time reminiscing through stories and pictures. Then we headed over to the reunion to see who all was there. I discovered that a class reunion is kind of a strange time...people look so different and you have to try to figure out who is being fake and who is really being authentic. I decided to really make an effort to "put myself out there" and speak to a variety of people...I think I accomplished my goal! I talked alot with Jim Cooley, Larum Dean, Chris Lehman, Doug Codding, Brian Plath, Melanie Upton, Natalie Miller, Hiedi Wallace, Alayne Schnaitter, etc. Most everyone I spoke with was real friendly...the few that weren't so nice I just ignored. Overall, I am glad I went to reunion...it was an okay experience for me.

Oct 12 ~ We got an offer on our house!! We had a showing yesterday and then a second one today which resulted in an offer that we really couldn't refuse. Looks like we will be moving into our new home by December 3rd...just in time to put up the tree and enjoy our new fireplace! Craig, Nat, and I met our realtor at the new house to take another peek and to sign the papers for the sell of our current home. I am excited about many aspects of the new house, but am just concerned because Natalie's room will be smaller than the one she is in now...and I am sad to leave the pretty nursery that Craig and I worked so hard on. I am not always the best at dealing with change...but I am positive it will turn out to be wonderful! We will be getting a home in a nice neighborhood with a better floorplan, larger garage, and flatter yard for Nattie!

Oct 14 ~ Natalie was smiling at a man who was sitting near us at lunch today. I think she thought he was her Grandpa Essington! Unfortunately, she wasn't smiling so much later in the evening...we were up most up the night because of teething pain...Nat has 2 more teeth coming in! Soon she will have 6 teeth to eat her birthday cake with...2 top front and 4 bottom front!

Oct 15 ~ Despite the long night we had last night, Natalie was pretty happy and well-rested this morning. So we made it to the Hearts In Touch baby play day at Oaknoll Retirement Community. The staff had all the senior citizens sit on the outer circle while the children played and sang songs in the inner circle. Some of the staff introduced Natalie to the residents and had her sit in their laps for awhile. Nat looked a little scared, but she did really well and enjoyed herself for the most part. It brought me a lot of joy seeing my little girl put a smile on so many faces!

In other Natalie news: It amazes me how much she learns each day! Even though she only says 3 words (Ma-Ma, Da-Da and Dog), she understands quite a few. If you say "Ellie" she'll go to her stuffed elephant, "Kitty " she goes to her stuffed kitty, "book" she'll go get a book. She also understands "milk", "num-nums" (food), "cup", "hugs", and "no" (of course, only when she feels like it!). She also knows where her tongue is...ask her and she'll stick it out for you! Oh...can't forget her favorite..."get nakey", which means bathtime!!

Oct 16 ~ Craig, Nattie, and I went tailgating today! It was super cold outside, so we only stayed for a few hours. Craig grilled up his famous chicken sandwiches. Natalie gave plenty of hugs to our friend, Shawn, and ate many cookies! We watched the guys throw bean bags and sat by the warm grill. After awhile, we all went home to watch the Hawkeye game on TV and take long naps.

Oct 17 ~ Today was a wonderful family day! We had lunch at The Brickhaus Restaurant in The Amanas. Then we took Natalie over to Bloomsbury Farm in Atkins, Iowa for some fun and to get a pumpkin. It is a really neat place...Natalie got to pet many animals, ride a kiddie train, go on a hayrack ride, and touch pumpkins at the pumpkin patch. The goats were Nat's favorite animal, she was okay with the cow, but the pigs were scary and made her cry. :(

Natalie and I went to the mall to pick out her birthday present from Mommy and Daddy! We found the sweetest framed print for her room. The main part of it says "God Danced the Day You Were Born". I wanted to just get a little somehing for her that she could keep for a long time and that was meaningful. I have been doing quite a bit of reflecting over the past week...just about how lucky we are to have Nat in our lives and how much we love her. It's hard to remember what life was like before she arrived...she is so beautiful.

Oct 22 ~ Tonight we left for Bloomington so we can celebrate Natalie's birthday! We marked the event by turning her carseat around to finally face the front! When we got to Craig's parent's house, we were greeted by Bailey and Brigit. Craig's parent's did an awesome thing and had the dogs' teeth professionally cleaned earlier that day. No doubt that they surely needed that done!

Grandma and Grandpa Essington got Natalie dressed in her pretty pink 3-piece sweater outfit, white tights, and black dress shoes while Mommy and Daddy got things ready for the party. Grandma also put a cute little pink bow in Nat's hair...she looked like a doll! There were SO many family and friends out at Grandpa Bair's home to celebrate Nattie's big day! There were gondola sandwiches, many side dishes, and plenty of cake to eat. Grandma Essington had made the traditional "lamb cake" for Natalie to have for her very own. Natalie was pretty confused with having her own cake and the crowd of people there to see her. But she did have some fun letting relatives hold her, playing with all the other kids, and opening gifts. Nat recieved so many nice toys and outfits from everyone. Some of the highlights we won't forget are: The little pink lamb mints that Grandma specially made, Natalie crying while dipping her fingers in frosting, the big red Radio Flyer wagon from Grandpa Bair, and the sheet cake from Sam's Club that was supposed to look like a lamb but looked more like a donkey!! My favorite part was hearing everyone sing "Happy Birthday" to my little girl and knowing they were all there because they all love and care for her so much! It was a fantastic day!

Today we went to church at Calvary and then had lunch with Craig's parents. Plenty of yummy leftover salads from the day before! Natalie also got to open two more birthday presents...a Little Tikes riding toy from Grandma and Grandpa and a huge stuffed cow from Uncle Mike! Soon we were attempting to load everything into the van for the ride home. After their month-long vacation (so we could show our house), the dogs rode home with us as well.

Oct 26 ~ Natalie had her 1 year check-up with Dr. Miller today. Our big girl now weighs 23.5 pounds and is 31 inches long! That puts her at the 95-97th percentile for height and at the 80th percentile for weight! Her weight has slowed down due to her being more mobile lately. Dr. Miller would like Nat to have a flu shot this year. We suspect she may have an allergy to egg whites, so we'll have to take her for some bloodwork before we can let her have the flu shot. We also set up an appointment for her to have her eyes checked, since the doctor (and others) think Nattie may have a lazy eye.

In other exciting news...Natalie is now starting to walk!!!! Many times she just "lunges" to get from one place to another, but now she is beginning to take actual steps! It seems she sort of skipped the standing phase...she has stood a few random times in the past, but nothing that was too clear to us. Of course I am proud, but no one is more proud than Daddy! Yeah to Nattie!

Oct 28 ~ Natalie had such a busy morning today, but she was such a good girl through everything. We went over to Mercy Hospital for Nat's eye exam and bloodwork. Saw Dr.Stacy Thompson for the eye exam...the only part Nat didn't like were the eye drops for dialation. The doctor does think that Natalie's right eye turns in just a tad, but she is not certain on the seriousness of it yet. It could be that it will correct itself or that it is just an optical illusion caused by Natalie having a wide-bridged nose. The doctor suggested we come back in 6 months to have it looked at again. Now for the tough part of the morning...having blood drawn to check for egg allergy. The nurses were very caring and gentle with my baby girl, so both Nat and I felt good about that. But boy did Natalie cry when they put the needle in her arm...and I don't blame her! It tore me up to see her cry so much. And the stare down that Natalie gave the nurse that poked her...she quickly forgot that it was the same lady that had just put some sugar on her pacifier for her to enjoy...haha! We should know the results of the test in a few days. We spent a total of 2-1/2 hrs at the hospital ...phew!

Later during the day, Natalie tried drawing with crayons for the first time. I think we'll put those away for awhile...all she wanted to do was eat them! Natalie also helped to feed herself dinner with a utensil today! The utensil is a new thing called a "Li'l Dipper"...it's kind of like a stick with grooves that babies can just dip into their food and then put in their mouth. It's a little easier than a spoon. Nat was able to take it from her food to her mouth, but does not have the hang of dipping it back in the food yet.

Oct 31 ~ We took it pretty easy for Halloween this year...Natalie wasn't feeling well most of the weekend, so she was pretty tired and cranky. But she did get dressed up during the afternoon to go to a little Halloween festival at Coralville Parks and Rec. Nattie was adorable as Piglet! She played a fishing game with Daddy and then picked a floating duck all by herself in order to receive a prize. She also got a balloon shaped like a dog (her favorite animal) and a sack of Trick or Treat goodies to take home. In the evening we relaxed at home while Craig handed out some candy to the Trick or Treaters. Natalie's little friend, Madeline, came by with her daddy to say hello...Maddie was dressed as a pink fairy princess :)