With a Quack Quack Here...

Natasha is ready for another fun day of school (Toddler Time)

This is the Elementary School where we are taking the class

It was all about ducks this week. Here is Natasha's school project.
She got to mess around with glue and feathers.

18 Months

I had to get creative, since the blocks were at home

18 months... 1 and 1/2 years old!

Typical 18 month old... won't pose for pictures!

Beautiful Steamboat

Can't get her away from waa-waa

Natasha turned 18 months on Saturday and we were in beautiful Steamboat, Colorado for the weekend. I don't think any of us wanted to come back home, especially Natasha, who spent the weekend playing with not one, not two, not three, but four golden retrievers. When she woke up each morning she would sign and say "dog." Same thing after she woke up from her naps or anytime the dogs went outside to play. She loved all of them and they loved her too (since she always had snacks in her hands and she was the perfect height for their mouths). Besides the dogs, Natasha loved exploring the "ouside." I think the sandy beach and pond were her favorite and she was ready to jump right into the water with the dogs. I might invest in a life jacket for her and just have her wear it anytime we are near water. Overall, it was a wonderful weekend and I will post more photos soon and go into more detail about our trip, but let's get back to our 18 month old.

On Monday, Natasha had her 18 month check-up and she is doing great and hitting all the developmental milestones for her age. Dr. Cox was impressed that Natasha has 60 plus words in her vocabulary. We always knew Natasha was smart... S M R T... I mean S M A R T. She must get her brains from her Dada. Here are her stats from her appointment:

Height: 32 1/4" (74th percentile - growing tall)
Weight: 25 lbs. 6 oz. (53rd percentile - leaning out)
Head Circumference: 47 cm (73rd percentile - it's got to hold all those words in there)

At the end of the appointment, Natasha had to get three shots. She didn't even cry for the first one and only cried for 5 seconds for the other two. She did get her flu shot, so she is all set for the fall and winter seasons.

Besides talking up a storm and being fearless, Natasha is still our little ham who makes us smile and laugh everyday. She is so comfortable in front of people and is interacting more with kids her own age at our play groups and in our classes. She is still a very good eater, however she prefers snacks over anything else. Natasha sleeps 12 hours a night and takes one nap a day (averaging around 2 hours). Just today, as we were getting out of the car, Natasha said the word "poop," so I checked her diaper and it was clean. We came into the house and a few minutes later she said it again. This time she had pooped. I don't think we are ready to potty train, but I think this is a good start to when we do venture in that direction. I might buy a couple of potties to have around the house and just have her practice sitting on them at certain times during the day. Other than that, Natasha loves being "ouside." She loves playing in the backyard, running in the grass, picking up sticks and rocks or just climbing on our rock wall... that's our danger monkey!

Apples

Natasha trying to take Noelani's snack

Natasha's first art project

Tasha and Noelani at snack time

Today was Natasha's first day of "School." Actually it was a Parent and Me Toddler Time class offered through Capo School District. We meet once a week for 14 weeks and it is a structured class that provides interactive play through crafts, music, language and movement. There are 20 kids total (and 20 mommies) and we are taking it with Natasha's friends, Noelani and Gage. Natasha had a great first day, but was definitely wiped out after class. This week's theme was "Apples." We started at 9:30 with interactive play. There were toy stations through out the room for the children to play with. Two tables were set up, one for playing with play-dough (apple pie scent) and the other with paint and "Apple" shaped cut-outs (as you can see above). After 45 minutes of free play we got the kids to clean up the toys and head to the middle of the classroom for circle time. We introduced ourselves and sang songs (most were about apples) for about 20 minutes. Then was snack time, which Natasha was waiting patiently for. During circle time she signed "cracker" a couple of times and said "snack" a few times too. But she was a good trooper and sat on my lap until it was snack time. The kids loved sitting at the table and eating their snacks. It was so cute to see. Once Natasha's belly was full, we sat down for one on one story time. This gave the other kids time to finish their snacks and kept the other kids out of the toy bins. After being indoors for almost an hour and a half we got the chance to take the kids outside for playground time. Of course, there was the jungle gym with swings and slides, but there were also cars and trikes for the kids to ride around on on the blacktop. With 10 minutes left of class, we went back inside for our closing circle time. It was kind of fun going back to school and I don't know who enjoyed it more, Natasha or myself! Next week's theme will be "Ducks."

We are off to beautiful Colorado for the weekend and tomorrow our little toddler turns 18 months. I can't believe Natasha will be 2 in six months! It makes me sad that she is growing up so fast. At this rate we should forget about where she will be going to preschool when she is three and decide on where she will go to college!

UCLA Tailgate

She looks pretty good in blue and gold

Natasha and her bounce house

Tasha and Grandma Lou... lots of team spirit

Barrett and Natasha

Baylee and Natasha

Ford checking out the corn hole game

Noelani and Tasha

Time to Waa-Waa

Natasha, Ryder, Barrett and Baylee...
looks like they are up to no good

Yay, I got my camera back and it works! We had our second UCLA Tailgate party on Saturday and it was another great success... can't say the same for the actual UCLA game, but that hasn't put a damper on our team spirit or the ability to have a good time with our family and friends. Since we did not get UCLA tickets this season, we decided to tailgate in our backyard and watch the games on our TV in the comfort of our home. And Natasha loves to host her friends on the weekends... I wonder where she gets that from! We will be taking a break next weekend (since we will be out of town), but we will be having another tailgate party on Oct. 1st!

Tasha and Kiki

Having fun in the bounce house

Kiki loved the chocolate cookie... can you tell?

Kiki came up and sat right next to Tasha

"That looks good"

"I think I will have some too"

Silly Girl

The Tippers came over today for a play date and some football. The girls had so much fun playing in the bounce house and on Natasha's new slide... two great investments! Hopefully, both girls will nap well today after all that running around.

Zoomars

Tasha and Noelani

Danger Monkey at it again

Riding the Choo Choo

Feeding the "dogs" (aka goats)

Natasha and I met our friends at Zoomars for a play date this morning and she had so much fun looking at all the "dogs." We need to practice matching animals to their correct names. Right now, bunnies, goats, llamas and cows are all dogs to her. She knows how to say the names, but doesn't realize that not all fuzzy animals with four legs are dogs... something we need to work on. As you can see, Natasha also had a great time with the non-animal features at Zoomars. She loved riding the train, making a mess with her friend, Noelani and of course, figuring out how to climb up a ladder to get to the slide... that's our danger monkey! We hope to go back and visit next month when they will have their pumpkin patch. Thanks for checking in on our little animal.

Slides, UCLA and More

Which purse goes with my outfit?

Strutting down the runway

With Auntie Lizzy at our Tailgate Party... Go Bruins!

Natasha's new slide


Well, our camera is still in the shop and I am hoping it will be fixed this week. So, not very many pictures have been taken except with cell phones and our iPad. Natasha got a big surprise in the mail last week... a slide for our backyard. Thank you, Grandma Lou! Natasha loves to slide these days and she also loves the bounce house now. We had our first UCLA Tailgate Party at our home last weekend and it was a big hit with Natasha's friends and our friends too! The kids had so much fun in the yard and it was great seeing them interact with each other. This weekend I will try to capture the kids enjoying the bounce house and slide together, since we are having another tailgate party on Saturday.