Life as Natalie

Last week Natalie had her 1 year appointment. Originally Ashley was supposed to have her 3-year check as well, but because there are so many nasty bugs going around, we thought it'd be best to keep Ashley out of the doctor's office as much as possible.
Where to start?
Since Natalie has been so sick her well-baby check really turned into a check-up. We opted to postpone vaccinations as she's on some pretty major antibiotics. In addition to that, if she were to need a shot of steroid for her lungs (to help breathing), she wouldn't be able to get it within so many days of receiving her vaccinations.
Turns out what we originally thought was pneumonia is now appearing to be RSV, a potentially bad viral infection in the lungs. This means that the antibiotics Natty is taking aren't doing a bit of good. But since she had already started them and they don't know for sure that it's not pneumonia, the pediatrician wanted her to finish them out. But as the days went by, and her symptoms seemed to be getting worse (green snotty nose, horrible cough, fever off and on), my guess is RSV.
She got checked out and the good news is that she didn't sound too wheezy at the time of the appointment. Her ears looked great, although I can't imagine an ear infection would live considering she was on such major drugs. She weighs 22 lbs and is 30 inches long. Those numbers fall in the 70th percentile! She's so tiny compared to Ashley who was ALWAYS in the 99th!! Basically Natalie is EXACTLY the same size as Ashley at Ashley's 9 month appointment! Isn't that bizarre!?
Natalie impressed the doc with her walking/running abilities and fine and gross motor skills. It seems that she's learning lots and lots from watching Ashley. What a good big sister, huh?
She currently wears size 12 month, but that's only because I haven't unpacked the size 18 month yet. Ha ha ha! She still wears size 3 diapers and it doesn't appear that she'll be outgrowing those any time soon. Fine by us considering you get more diapers per dollar that way!
She currently is in love with:
satsumas - will eat 2 at a time if you let her
green beans - will only eat those at dinnertime unless you keep them hidden until the rest of her meal is eaten
climbing - anything! Stairs, couches, chairs, tables, my legs. You name it, she'll climb it.
giving hugs and kisses - even accentuates her kisses with a loud Mmmmmmmm-ah!
being chased by Ashley/chasing Ashley - they're such a riot when they get going
crawling and climbing on anyone who sits on the floor - watch out because she'll launch herself at you
Natalie is pretty darn smart, too. Of course this may just be coming from a doting mommy...If you say "Natty, ready to eat?" and give her the sign-language sign for eat, she'll do it back to you and then take off running for her highchair. If she sees a spot on the floor (but that hardly EVER happens ha ha ha!), she'll walk into the laundry room, get a towel, come back to the spot and wipe it up. In addition to that, she loves getting her hands on a Kleenex/napkin and blowing her nose (and yes she does actually blow and doesn't just pretend!). When asked "Natalie, get Daddy your bottle" or "Natalie, put away this toy" she'll do as she's asked. When she's ready for nap/bedtime she will first yell and smack the refrigerator as if to say "Bottle please!", then once she's gotten your attention, she'll take off for the stairs and sit on the bottom step waiting for you to pick her up and take her to her room.
She's a noisy one, too!! It's not uncommon to hear both she and Ashley singing or having screaming and giggling contests. Natalie can say Dada, Mama and ba-ba (bottle). Her favorite sounds to make are B and D. Many times you'll hear her in the other room talking/yelling and before long she'll be out at your feet with a look on her face of "Follow me!", so I'll say "What do you want?" and she'll take off and point to whatever it is that she wants (most times it's a satsuma, toy or juice).
Natalie is so much fun! I just wish she weren't so sick! Please pray that it won't be too much longer before she's over this. I know she's getting tired of us always coming at her with wipes for her nose. Plus I'm sure the horrible hacking cough doesn't feel too good, either!