November 2009 - Recap

My darling baby girl,
This month has passed by far too quickly. I often wish I could suspend time so that you'd be this age forever. I love (love!) the age you are now. People told me I'd say this, and they're right - that every age and stage is the best. You're chatty, and you'll frequently hold 'conversations' with Daddy and me. You're inquisitive, and you have no problem climbing over any obstacle to check something out. You're friendly, and you love waving, smiling, and dancing for people.

Speaking of waving, I happen to think you're the best waving baby in the history of babies. You can do the Miss America wave, you can do the open-fingers-close-fingers wave, and you can do the regular 'bye-bye' wave (though with that one, you wave to yourself). And you've begun to realize just how cute we think your waving is. If you touch something that you're not supposed to (the Christmas tree, the power cord for the computer, etc), we say "No!". You stop, look at us with your big puppy dog eyes, break into a big grin, and start waving. How are Daddy and I supposed to keep a straight face when you pull that?! You have the makings of a master manipulator (insert evil laugh here)

You're not walking yet (much to your daddy's dismay - I win our "When Will Natalie Walk?" bet by default. Ha!), but I have a feeling it won't be too long. You've gotten really good at maintaining your balance so you can stand up for quite a long time by yourself. I love how you haven't yet been plagued by fears of failing - you stand up, you wobble, you fall down ... and you immediately get back up again. I love that. You don't care that you've fallen down 10 times in the past two minutes; all you seem to care about is getting back up to try again. When you get older, it'll be easy to get frustrated when you fail, and it'll be mine and Daddy's job to help you get back up again. And I know when that happens, I'll be sure to remind you of when you were learning to stand on your own. I have a feeling that this concept pretty much sums up parenting in general.

You are also still only sporting your two bottom teeth. Your top teeth are just about to pop through (at least that's what Daddy and I assume when you get especially grumpy). Even with a severe tooth deficit, you've gotten really good at chewing food. You love cheese (which is a requirement if you're going to be a member of Team Smith) and you liked the turkey I made for Thanksgiving. You're getting the hang of picking up soft foods too. You can pick up pieces of
banana without smashing them to smithereens. And you can pick up peas (yes, I've crossed over into the dark side and fed you peas) without too much trouble. You're still not a fan of pasta (which is a problem, because cheese and pasta are what Team Smith is made of), but I think it's more of a texture thing than a taste thing. At least I *hope* it's a texture thing. Because if this dislike of pasta continues, there will be many nights where you'll be hungry when dinnertime
comes around.

You are really, really observant. Daddy just came into the room and told that you, from across the living room, noticed that he had a toothpick in his mouth and you immediately crawled over to him and tried to take it out of his mouth. You notice I change the sheet in your crib. You notice if a toy has been moved. You notice if furniture has been moved. You notice if I have on different earrings. You fully inspect everything that appears to have changed. Everything needs
your Nataroo Seal of Approval.

I had a great plan for your first Thanksgiving - Daddy and I were going to have Nana, Grandpa, Gramma Lu, Granddaddy, and Aunt Karen over for a nice turkey dinner. We'd eat while you took your nap, and then when you got up, we'd be done with lunch and all ready to play! Unfortunately things didn't work out as planned. I got a nasty stomach bug and was sick over Thanksgiving. We ended up having our Thanksgiving lunch at Waffle House. (Side note: Waffle House rocks. I know you'll appreciate as much as Daddy and I do). In the grand scheme of things, it wasn't a big deal. We were all together for Thanksgiving. It didn't matter if we were together in our dining room or sitting in booths at Waffle House while silly country songs play on the jukebox. We were together and that's what counts. Family is so important, my darling. (Side note: I did end up cooking our Thanksgiving turkey - once I finally got over the stomach bug)

You figured out one of your toys this month! You have a big green dinosaur that has four holes in it that you can drop balls into. Up until now, 'playing' with the toy consisted of you beating the dinosaur with the balls, smacking the dinosaur with your hand, taking other toys and smashing them into the dinosaur - i.e.: anything besides actually putting the balls into the holes. But just a few days ago, you were watching me putting the balls into the holes (like I've done dozens of times before) and you picked up a ball and put it through one of the holes. It may not sound like much, but I was SO proud of you. You figured it out! And for the next few minutes, you put ball after ball after ball after ball into the hole. And each time, you looked at me - and it was like you were saying "Hey Mommy! Look what I just figured out how to do! How cool am I?"

To answer that, my sweet baby - you are the coolest girl in the world. Daddy and I are honored to know you.

Hugs and smooches,
Mommy & Daddy