She's 1!

It's hard to believe that my little baby Natalie is 1 now. This past year has gone by so fast. She had a rough start with her prematurity and then RSV that landed her back in the hospital but she worked and ate hard and its been basically smooth sailing ever since. When I first saw her I just remember thinking that she was such a pretty baby. I loved her little, slightly upturned nose (I still don't know where that came from). She was such an easy baby and Joe and I started thinking that she was going to be our calm, easygoing child. Well, we soon discovered that Natalie is actually quite stubborn and determined. Maybe more so than Elizabeth. She is very driven and hates to be deterred from her course or to have something taken away from her. We love our little determined girl and know that this quality will serve her well throughout her life. Natalie has brought so much joy into our lives. I especially love that she is a mama's girl since Elizabeth was always a daddy's girl. I love when she says "mama" and reaches out to me. Happy Birthday Natalie!

Natalie enjoyed her cake but loved her ice cream. We've ruined her already! (That black stuff on her face is the black icing, by the way)

Natalie got some fun presents, which Elizabeth was more than willing to help her open and then play with. :)

The biggest hit was a set of fake keys that I picked out for her. She's even still playing with them two days after so that's a good sign.

I also wanted to post some video of Natalie that's been a long time coming. The first one is Natalie playing peek-a-boo and the second is of her tickling herself.