Life with a Toddler (so far)

Easter Egg Hunt at Stroller Strides:

Just some of the eggs

"Look, I got an egg"

Isabel and Natasha

Noelani and Natasha

"My eggs"

Big Day- Easter Sunday and 13 Months: Yogurt face...

... and yogurt hair!
(Great! Right before getting ready for church.)

First time at church

Uncle Matt and Tasha

At Grandma Lou's house

Cooper and Natasha

Sharing with Cooper... more like teasing.

Supposed to say "13 months"...

... There we go. Our little smiley toddler!

Life with a toddler has kept us on our toes. Natasha is 13 months and she is officially a walker. We love her little waddle and what she has accomplished in just 2 weeks. Not only is she walking, but she can bend down and pick up objects and she can carry her ball around and then throw or bounce it to us. She is also standing up (from a sitting position) without assistance! It is so much fun taking her to the park now and watching her walk around and climb the jungle gym. She still likes to be held, but only on her terms. Natasha has added the word "ball" to her vocabulary and still babbles to us every day. She is learning how to make different sounds with her mouth and gives us open mouth kisses... so sweet! Some not-so-fun toddler-like behavior that she exhibits now is fighting me when I change her diaper. I have to come up with new ways to keep her occupied just to get the job done. Most of the time I just let her run around nude for a bit before putting on the clean diaper, but I can't do that when we are out of the house. It would be fine if all she did was try to roll away, but she screams (almost like throwing a bit of a tantrum). Also, she is now afraid of bath time... great! So my little toddler who loves the dirt and sand (and apparently is content in a dirty diaper), now hates water. Every time I try to put her in the bath, she cries and tries to climb out. According to BabyCenter.com, it is one of three most common fears that toddlers have. The two others are fear of dogs (not Natasha, she loves dogs, especially Cooper) and fear of haircuts (well, it will be awhile before we find out if Natasha is afraid of that). So, for now it is sponge baths and occasional showers with mama. I sure hope this passes soon because the warm days are upon us and the pool is calling my name. Other than that we have a happy, smiley and lovable toddler on our hands and can't wait to see what she learns next!