Little Boy, Big Heart

I wanted to share a really sweet story about my nephew with you all in hopes it might brighten your day just a bit.

Yesterday my sister was running some errands with her six year old son, Colin, and while leaving the shopping mall they were at he said he was hungry. Being in a rush, they stopped at McDonald's in the food court and grabbed some lunch to go. Colin munched on some fries in the back of the car, and was excited when he peeled off his monopoly game pieces and won a free Big Mac.

While stopped at a red light, he spotted a man with a grocery cart sitting on a corner and asked my sister why the man would be outside in the heat. Continuing on their way, my sister explained that the man was probably homeless.

Not quite sure what that meant, he asked his mother to explain. After she told him what it meant, he grew very concerned and told her to turn the car around because he needed to give his meal to the man.

They turned around and pulled up to the curb where the man was. My sister rolled down the window and asked if the man was hungry. He replied, "Very" and my sister handed him the food along with the ticket for a free sandwich, per my nephew's request.

The man got the biggest smile on his face and gave a thumbs up as they drove off. After my sister praised her son for his good deed, he told her that despite being hungry himself, he had had breakfast that day and the homeless man probably hadn't. To him, it was no big deal.

I can't believe what a sweet, compassionate young man my nephew is blossoming into and I couldn't be more proud of him! That's a very big thing for someone so small to do.

My Toddler Girl

When I thought being a parent to a baby was hard, I was delusional.

Baby Natalie was a breeze compared to toddler Natalie. Don't get me wrong, I love, love, love being a mom to a 19 month old, she is so much fun- it's just that she is more difficult now that her little attitude is starting to make it's debut.

95% of the time she is the sweetest thing. She is affectionate and gives hugs and kisses and cuddles for short amounts of time, but holy hell, if that girl doesn't get her way she will flip the switch in a second.

Thank goodness she has so many redeemable personality traits, like silliness and smarts (being adorable also helps) to make up for the meltdowns and tantrums.

Everyday there's something new with Natalie. She says new words, finds new ways to communicate if she can't find the words, or makes up new games.

Here are some other changes that have been going on:

-We're still working on numbers but she is finally starting to get the concept down. It seems like something that she will just all of a sudden know one day without me pushing too hard. We had the T.V. on one day and someone said, "One, two, three, four!" and on her own I heard Natalie say, "Five, six, eight!" I was so impressed (even if she was off by one number), but she hasn't done it again since.

- Colors are also something she doesn't seem too interested in, but she knows that red traffic lights mean stop and green one's mean go. If I ask her what color something is, she doesn't always get it right, but she will tell me the right color of something on her own (like saying, "blue socks" if she's wearing blue socks).

-She's still a Daddy's girl through and through, but she needs me to go to sleep. I love taking naps with her and putting her to bed at night.

-She had a routine check up this week (it was supposed to be her 18 month visit, but we got a month off track) and she is 24 lbs, and 34 1/2 inches tall! That's the 51st and 97th percentile.

-She is becoming more attached to certain toys, like baby dolls and puppy dogs. She imitates things we do for her and does them for her baby, like feeding, taking her on walks in the stroller and changing her diaper.

-Forgive me if this is TMI, but she used the potty for the first time this week. Twice! I am in no rush to start potty training (no diapers mean more accidents to clean up) but we needed a urine sample for the doctor, so I had to get her to go. It didn't take too long, we just sat there and read some books for maybe 15 minutes and she did it. I clapped and cheered and she looked so proud. A few days after that she actually asked me to go potty, I asked if she wanted some books, left the room to get some, came back and she already went!

- Speaking of praise, she absolutely loves it. She is back to being a picky eater, so to get her to try something new, or even eat in general, I tell her I'll clap for her if she does. She usually agrees, eats it and claps for herself as well. Sometimes she'll put the food in her mouth, clap and then spit it out. At least she gives a try though!

-Another way to get her to eat is to tell her what the texture of food is like. Example: "Try this watermelon, it's so juicy!" or "Have some avocado, it's really creamy."

That's all the rambling I can do for now! Until next time, my friends!

With Mam-mam and Pap-pap. People used to always tell me she looks like Matt's mom, but I am now starting to really see it.

July 4th, 2012 (7 months) and July 4th, 2013 (19 months).