Eighteen Months With Natalie!

Friday, August 9, 2019





It's Natalie's half birthday today! Seriously though, how have 18 months flown by since she was my tiny little newborn?! She's absolutely huge now, and so much fun. Her little personality comes out more each day, and I have been loving learning more about my tiny and who she is. :)



Age: 18 months
    
Weight: 23 lbs


Height: 31.5 inches


Clothing size: 18 months


Teeth: 10 total! She has 4 up top, 3 on the bottom, and 3 molars so far. She's finally catching up! Also, I'm 99% sure she is missing a front bottom tooth, which is apparently perfectly normal for baby teeth.


Favorite foods: Still completely obsessed with bananas and all fruit really. She also loves chicken, cheese, turkey dogs, green beans, cooked carrots, and pasta of any sort.


Words: She's a little talking machine now and I love it! She's a little shy and soft spoken, but times when its just her and me she's an absolute jibber jabber. Her favorite things to say are: "Mommy, up please!" "Go bye bye" and pointing out animals that she recognizes "ho-see" (horsie) "'cow", and "dog".


Favorite activities: going to gymnastics (so cute), going "side" (outside) to play, baths, all meals/snack times, and going ni-night (this kid adores her crib and sleeping...she's mama's girl for sure!)

Least favorite activities: She's actually been fairly easy going lately, but she still gets grumpy for some diaper changes. Other than that, she pretty much goes with the flow and it's lovely.


Favorite toys: ALL the books, baby dolls, little people, and the play kitchen


Signature moves: brings me a book and asks me to "ribbit" (read it), pretends to change Kennedy's diaper, hits the couch or other objects when she's mad or frustrated, asks for a banana the moment we walk in to Target, and wants to "walk!!!" wherever we go instead of being in a stroller


Since they are so active, my sister and I decided to put Natalie and my niece Kennedy in gymnastics once a week, and it has been amazing for them. They giggle the whole time, and it's been so much fun to see what they're capable of learning already at such young ages! 



Natalie is the sweetest girl with a heart of gold, but her inner diva is definitely breaking through the closer she gets to 2. Her opinions are solid, and she is starting to make it known when she thinks something is unfair! I love it though, and I'm proud to be raising yet another strong little lady! 


Happy half birthday, my Natalie Louise Faith! In 6 short months you will be 2 and I can't even handle it!
 Mommy loves you to the moon and back! 








The More That You Read...

Friday, August 2, 2019

"The more that you read,
the more things you will know.
The more that you learn,
the more places you'll go."
-Dr. Seuss
From the time Baylee was a tiny baby, Brian and I have made a huge effort to read to her daily. I truly believe that by starting so young, we instilled a deep love of books and reading in her. When she was tiny, we started with short board books like "Goodnight Moon" and "Brown Bear, Brown Bear". As a toddler she started to like books that were a little more involved like "Room On the Broom" and "Pinkalicious". Now that she is 5, we still read all her old favorites, but I recently introduced "chapter books" in to her world and she is absolutely loving it!

I got the idea to start reading chapter books to her, when author Kirsty Lee Hutton reached out to me about her children's book series called "The Kingsley Kids". I couldn't wait to get my hands on the first book: "The Kingsley Kids and the Invisible Spray." It is the cutest book about three 10-year-old friends tackling regular school-aged life events with some extraordinary events thrown in as they discover a magic spray that can turn things (and people) invisible. It is a wonderfully written book that teaches a few life lessons easy enough for a young child to understand. 

Baylee has loved being able to close her eyes and imagine all the lovable characters in her head. After each chapter, we take some time so she can ask questions or add in her opinion, and it has been a fun bonding experience for us! If you would like to read this wonderful book, you can purchase a copy here, or visit my Instagram where I am giving away 5 copies!

What were your favorite chapter books to read as a child?