Happy 17 month birthday and finally an update!

Our big girl turned 17 months today!  I was looking back through the blog and could not believe that the last time I did an overall update was in March!  So I am going to attempt to recall all of the awesome things that Natalie does now...
*We haven't really mentioned it in the blog, but Natalie has been doing great in the toddler room at day care.  Just within the past week, she has stopped crying when we drop her off (please note that the previous tears almost always stopped the moment we left the room, so she really was just trying to break our hearts...or make us feel like she cared when she really didn't)  There have been some staffing issues that have caused some bumps along the way, but we love all of the teachers in her room and she seems to do great each day.
*Natalie is finally practically a full-time walker.  She still moves pretty cautiously, but she chooses to walk almost all of the time now and doesn't fall as much as she did when she first started out.  If she has the choice though, she would still love to hold your hand if you are within reach.
*She is a great eater.  She loves pretty much all food, except for eggs.  She has recently developed a liking of cherry tomatoes and cucumbers, which is kind of surprising.  She loves all fruit and was quite adorable as she ate her first strawberry a few weeks ago.  Her dessert weakness is ice cream, which her grandpa is thrilled about.
*She has come up with her own names for her family members that she has been using consistently.  She calls her daddy "Dada" which is not surprising.  She calls her grandpa "Paw-Paw"- which is a bit more creative but even more adorable.  Finally, it took the longest time for her to call her mommy or grandma anything, especially since she seems to not be able to make the "m" sound. So grandma is usually "Ba" and mommy has been "BaBa"very consistently and emphatically for about a week.
*Natalie does not have a very large full vocabulary, but she does say her own version of several things-
shu-shoes
sawk-sock
kak-duck/quack
wuf-dog/woof
boooo- cow/moo
BAA- her favorite animal sound for sheep
hap-hop
tee- teeth
beesh-brush (for brush her teeth)
wa- water or anything in a cup
mba-Pumba
Bah-nee-Barney
Bah-both BJ and Baby Bop
Woah!
yeah
buu slight k sound- book
boah-more
uh oh
hi
byebye
baf- bath

*She can sign: more, please, eat, all done, help, and shake her head no
*Natalie can point to her head, eyes, nose, ears, mouth, tummy, toes
*She looooovveessss to read! She chooses reading books over everything else except for watching Barney which is still her favorite thing in the world.
*She has like 10 Barneys, but the very first one she chose that we bought first is her security item that she loves, sleeps with, and likes to take in the car with her all the time.
*Natalie knows how to dance/do movements to The Itsy Bitsy Spider, Flying in an Airplane, Your Love (sweetest to see because this is a song they sing at church during kidstuf), and Mr. Sun
*She still loves bath time and will drop whatever she is doing to walk to the bathroom when asked if she would like to take a bath.
*She can take off her own shoes, socks, and with some help her shirt and pants.

Every day is more and more fun with our sweet little girl.  We are so very blessed and love her with all of our hearts!