Natalie Grace Luo: Time to catch up

Well, it's been a very long time (3 weeks!) since we've posted any news about Miss Natalie and there is so much to share. Let me just start by saying Natalie amazes us! She has adjusted so well to all of the changes in her short life and is a very happy girl!

Natalie finally met her grandparents on April 22nd. They were away visiting family and we all were so excited when they came home. We try to see them often so that she gets to know them. One day when they were visiting, Gramps was pulling at the front of his shirt and Natalie mimicked him. The next visit when she saw him she started to pull at her shirt and smile at him! It was really cute. She still keeps him at bay - when he holds his arms out to pick her up she initially puts her arms out, then quickly pulls them back - it's as if she's teasing him! Very cute. I'm sure she'll be sitting on Gramps lap soon.

She is pretty comfortable with Nana. She'll let Nana sit and play with her on the floor and sometimes, although briefly, hold her. I am definitely biased, but when you see Natalie you just want to pick her up and squeeze her! My mom (Nana) has been VERY patient waiting for Natalie, as has my dad (Gramps).

Nana and Gramps, proud grandparents, enjoying some 'Natalie time'

I (Alicia) started back to work one day per week on April 20th. Andy stays home on Mondays so it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. I knew she was in capable hands and that she would get lots of love. Finally Andy and Natalie could spend time together without 'ol Mom getting in the way. Kelsey was on school break and Heather Erdmann spent the night. They all took a trip over to First Baptist to introduce Natalie to Scott Linscott, our youth pastor and friend. Then they went to lunch at Portland House of Pizza, went home and took a good nap. When I got home they were happily playing inside. Andy got a glimpse of what stay-at-home mom's days are like. Since then he and Natalie have had 2 more Monday's together. They seem to be doing just fine.

Next week is my last week of maternity leave. I have many mixed feelings. Part of me looks forward to getting back into my job, but I'm also very sad to be leaving Natalie every day. We've bonded so well that I don't want anything to get in the way to hinder the process. She will be going to Ocean House Development Center in Cape Elizabeth for 3 days/week beginning Tuesday, May 19th. Davorka will be her primary care-giver and Natalie likes her. Davorka is from the former Yugoslavia and loves children. She has a degree in early childhood development and I've liked watching her gentle way with the kids in her care. We've been visiting every week for about an hour to get Natalie some level of comfort before she begins. The two other care givers are Daniella and Karen. Both very gentle souls with an easy-going manner about them. I know Natalie will really enjoy all the activities and kids once she settles in. And she has her cousins Anna and Drew there to check-in on her. (Today Drew came in and was very sweet trying to get her to play with him. She liked his Red Sox hat!) We will just take it all a day at a time and pray...a lot! :)

The biggest news is that Natalie turned 1 year old on Thursday, April 23rd! We celebrated that day with visitors bearing gifts - Aunt Phyllis, Nana & Gramps, and Alison! Natalie felt since it was her birthday that she didn't have to nap and only slept for about 30 minutes! UGH! She was happy just the same so we took a walk in the stroller and visited the playground nearby. For dinner we, Andy, Kelsey, Natalie, Alison, and I went to Portland Pie Company - go figure, pizza for a birthday dinner with the Berglunds! She enjoyed having some bites and playing at the table. She behaves very well in her chair whenever we are out. When we got home we gave her a birthday cupcake which she promptly crushed in her hands - very sticky! I fed her a few bites and she thought that it was pretty tasty! We will have a real party when Amanda is home from college.

"Where's my pizza?"

Out for a birthday dinner with big sister Kelsey.

Natalie enjoying her birthday cupcake!

Since our last post Natalie has learned to clap her hands, wave bye-bye (or hello), pull herself up, and almost stand on her own. Yesterday I found her kneeling on the second stair of the staircase to our bedrooms, quietly playing with a toy! I guess it's time to start putting up the safety gates and latches. Although, she was quite proud of herself for managing it! Did I mention she is ninja-like when crawling? Silent and sneaky! Her only give-aways are the times when she crawls with a toy grasped in her hands. Perhaps I should tie a bell to her shoe. :)

She now only takes one nap per day - typically from 1-3pm. Bedtime is between 7:30 and 8:00 and she sleeps until about 7:30 or 8:00. She's been eating very well, which in turn has put on some (needed) weight. She will eat baby food, but prefers what is on our plates. Today she shared my turkey and cheese sandwich with me - mind you she had already eaten her lunch! She likes to eat turkey meatballs, sweet potatoes, peas (not strained - the real thing!), banana bread, pasta, turkey, chicken, rice, and so much more. She has 3 (formula) bottles a day, morning, noon, and nightime and she still really loves them. We've begun to introduce the sippy cup, but she really doesn't like it yet. I sometimes put water in and other times milk. She definitely does NOT like juice. We've tried apple and white grape - sometimes in a cup, sometimes in a bottle. It just doesn't matter - not her 'cup of tea' I guess.

We've been taking a lot of pictures and video. Below are some of my favorite photos plus a video clip of her enjoying another jumping device: