19 Months, Trip to Michigan

Finally a few pictures of our trip to Michigan - after we've been back a week already! Shame on me!
At the Carroll family slideshow. We all gathered around and looked at slides of pictures my Dad has amassed over the years. A lot of fun - can't wait for more installments!

Natalie and Katie playing "night night" - Natalie's cousins were SO unbelievably amenable to playing all of her favorite games! They took great care of her. I have almost never seen her as happy as she was when she got to play with all of her cousins.

Matthew being adorable as ever.

"Bubba", ie my dad, showing Natalie how to use the blender.
Natalie, Aunt Pam, and Emma at the Polar Bear exhibit at the Detroit Zoo - what a great exhibit! And what a fun time we had.

Mom and Natalie at the polar bear exhibit. This was one of the few times Natalie let me hold her that day - she pretty much *only* wanted Aunt Pam to hold her by this point of our trip.

Emma in front of the camels.
More camels - also, evidence of my statement that she only wanted Aunt Pam to hold her!

Now that we're back she keeps asking for everyone in Michigan. "Where Bubba go?" is an oft-repeated phrase. Also, every little blonde boy in her books MUST be my nephew Nathan, i.e. Cubby. Apparently there are no other toddlers in the world (except Matthew of course, but he has dark hair of course). It's hard to imagine that I have entered a state in this pregnancy where it's not really advisable for me to fly anymore, so it will be a while before she sees everyone again.

Also, Natalie had her 19 month checkup today. I was glad to see our pediatrician so she could realize once again that she is about to get her second Gibbs child as a patient. Natalie is doing so well that the pediatrician asked me lots more questions about my pregnancy and this next child than about Natalie!

Stats at 19 months:
25 lb, 7 oz (61%) - it should be noted that this is almost a two pound gain in the last six weeks.
33 1/2 inches (87%)
Head 49 cm (96%)

She is supposed to be weaned from the bottle (check, for 6 months now), saying 7-10 words (check check check check check), climbing all over things (check), brushing her teeth every day (check - she LOVES to brush her teeth as long as Mom or Dad is doing so at the same time), and interested in books (CHECK). I was pleased to hear that her doctor thinks she is doing well! And, she didn't have to get any shots which was fabulous for mom :-)

New Camera!

We have a new camera, finally - which means we caught just a few snaps of Anna Youngs's birthday party on Saturday. The downside? I still don't have a good enough memory card which means that I got Natalie in the jumpy house and that's about it!


She was pretty shy with so many people around but we had a great time - and the birthday girl Anna was beautiful and looked like she was having a great time.

Natalie LOVES the Youngs family's sand table.

At home in her fancy dress for the occasion.
A picture of Natalie running!

Playing with blocks on a different day.

Tomorrow Natalie and I are off to Michigan. Can't wait!

New Word

Natalie's latest:

Pterodactyl.

I have a witness! My sister heard it too (over the phone)!

I should explain that she has bunches of Little People figurines (what can I say? I love them!), and one happens to be a pterodactyl. Still, pretty cool word for an 18 month old!

A Surefire Way to Keep Natalie Quiet

Today we took Natalie to get her first haircut. She did extremely well, though she was struck with an intense attack of shyness upon walking through the door to the salon. It was a salon just for kids, and there were other toddlers getting their hair cut, so we figure that she knew she was in for something new as soon as we walked in.

We opted to have her sit on my lap for her haircut, because otherwise we probably wouldn't be able to get through the experience without intense tears. She was certainly mistrustful of the experience, but we are proud to say that she received a lovely haircut in the end (with the help of several toy phones which the salon provided for the occasion).

Here's a video of the big event. We will try to take some pictures of her gorgeous new haircut within the next day or so.