Cool Natalie Stuff Post

The last day or so it just really seems like Natalie has been especially bright. Maybe that is why she was so grumpy recently; she is working through new skills. During bath tonight I said that I should do a Natalie blog, and Mike said she gave me a look like, "yeah!"

• Climbing has really gotten better. She can climb up on the couch no problem, even with jeans. She also is climbing up on the toilet, our kitchen chairs, and the deacon's bench. She can climb up slides to some degree depending on their length and incline.
• Lots of new words! Particularly noticing a lot of animals as we read different books. For example fox, hippo, and zebra. And she has finally gotten the sound for dog, which I don't blame her for being confused about. People names are also starting to come on strong this week. She is in love with on of my neighbors and also is starting to say relatives' names and some of the kids we see. And as we've watched different shows this week, I've learned that she knows the names of a lot of shows and characters that we don't even watch regularly. Also some books and toys have more permanent and clear names. Mouse Cookie is If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, for example. Other words and phrases include: potty, take it, bucket, tunnel, house, yummy, mud, purple, crazy, high five, "ready, set, go," up down (upside down). Mike was very happy when he asked her to say "yummy jelly" this morning and she did.
  
• She is using please without prompting on occasion.
  
• Speaking of books, she is more often filling in the words, especailly animals.
  
• When we read Once Upon a Potty, she likes to point out all the girl's body parts. She seems to know all the body parts now, including tricky ones like vagina, forehead, and elbow.
  
• She knows what friends are. It started with her toys being friends with each other and giving hugs and kisses. Then we started to talk about who her friends were when she sang the Yo Gabba Gabba song "Don't By You're Friends" in the tub. Now, if I ask, she will list names of real people and TV characters as her friends.
  
• She is engaging in play with other kids. Today, she kept initiating peekaboo with a little girl in the parking lot of play group. At story time, she was very excited to get our little neighbor to flap her arms with her. Also at play group, she does alright with taking turns on the slide and joined a pretend tea party.
  
• Tonight at dinner, she was actually telling Mike about her day. She told him about peekaboo with that girl using her name and saying peekaboo. Then when I said who else did we see, she told him about seeing our home visitor. Very cool. The other thing she often talks about is swim class. She also will often answer yeah if you ask if she had a good time doing something. More often I can ask her what she wants to eat or wear and get an answer.
  
• And speaking of swim class, they are going much, much better. She gets excited to see her bathing suit. She has to forcefully with strained from jumping into the pool before class starts. She does the games from class all the time. But, much like story time and play group, even if she is saying and doing the songs and games at home, she doesn't usually do then at home.
  
• She continues to work on stairs (now being able to go up and down whole sets holding just one of our hands) and silverware (often eating a whole portion of a meal with a utensil). She is getting better at brushing her teeth with an actual brushing motion. And she can step in and out of shoes and pants.
  
• She really has been enjoying digging in the dirt or mud in the backyard with her hands and using her bucket. Similarly, she loved the new table at play group with uncooked rice.
• She recognizes places. The park is a big one. She sometimes gets angry when I park to take her to the library and don't bring her to the park. But, the other day it seemed she recognized the play group parking when she got angry that I did not stop when I couldn't find a spot. She now knows our neighbor's house, probably because I always point it out on our walks. And even better, she knows our house. Just the other day she exclaims to me "mommy house!" pointing down the street at our house.
• New enjoyments include using a coloring book, trying to blow bubbles and white dandelion seeds, petting Ellie kitty, and trying to roll a ball with play doh. Other new fascinations are rides you find at the mall and the front seat of the car. She continues to love to play nap.