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I have a love/hate relationship with Child Development Milestone Charts. I think they are great guides to help parents make sure their kids are developing as they should, but on the other hand, I also think they can cause parents to worry about every little thing. It's hard not to be concerned when your child doesn't hit something right on schedule. They can however, be helpful if you do have serious concerns and your doctor can refer you to specialists or early intervention folks to address the issues early on.

It just amazes me how all kids develop at different speeds. Jenna was slow to develop large motor skills like crawling and walking. She wasn't crawling until about 8 months and didn't walk until about 14 months. She still, to this day, is one of the most uncoordinated toddlers I have been around!

On the other hand, her verbal development was, and still is, super advanced in my opinion. She was speaking more than 20 words by 12 months old and by 15 months well over 50 (we quit counting!). By 18-21 months she was using sentences/word combinations. Now we carry on full conversations together. I always get comments on how well she talks. Of course this makes me a proud mama, but can't pretend I wasn't worried when she wasn't crawling or walking right away!

Now Natalie seems to be developing on a similar time schedule as Jenna. She's approaching 6 months and she is not close to crawling, although she can sit unassisted for several seconds (even minutes sometimes). She "talks" a lot too....making noises and sounds constantly. I suspect we might start hearing "mama & dada" soon! I am not worried that she is not crawling (and probably will not be anytime soon), but it's never fun to think your kid is on the "slower" side of the spectrum. I should be thankful she is not mobile yet, as it makes my life tremendously easier. Afterall, I'm chasing a toddler around all day, so not having the infant thrown into the mix helps!

The website/e-newsletter that I like to use to keep up with milestones is www.welcomebabyhome.com. I like the fact that they have three categories - Things your child can do, things they may possibly be able to do, and things they may even be able to do.

Here is Jenna's list for a 2 year old according to the site:

2 Year Old Baby

Two years old! Your toddler is well on his way to becoming his own person. Over 6 months from now he will most likely master toilet learning, which both in your eyes and his will make him seem even more mature and independent. His every-increasing physical and intellectual skills allow him greater autonomy over feeding and most other areas of self-care. As his abilities come better in sync with his desires, he will be less rebellious. As he develops a better understanding of who he is (self-concept), he will definitely feel less inclined to fight authority on most fronts.

Things Your Toddler Can Do at this Stage:

• Take off one article of clothing
• Build a tower of 4 cubes
• Identify 2 items in a picture by pointing

Things Your Toddler May Possibly Do:

• Build a tower of 6 cubes
• Throw a ball overhand
• Speak and be understood half of the time
• Identify 1 item in a picture by naming
• Identify 4 items in a picture by pointing
• Jump up
• Put on an article of clothing

Things Your Toddler May Even Be Able to Do:

•  Draw a vertical line in imitation
• Build a tower of 6 cubes
• Carry on a conversation of 2-3 sentences

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Natalie got her first toothy a couple weeks ago and now the dreaded teething process begins...

Some parents tell me that teething doesn't bother their kids and they don't even notice it. We are not that lucky.

Jenna was an AWFUL teether. She would get cranky (and I mean seriously cranky) and have diarrhea for two weeks and then a tooth would appear. And to top it off, she would get one tooth one at a time for about 6 months. We'd go through two weeks of hell, then two good weeks and then repeat the cycle. This went on from 7/8 months old until about 15 months! Needless to say I felt like keeping a continuous IV drip of soothing Moscato Wine (for me of course!).

Natalie has been a little different, but still a cranky butt. She ran a low grade fever for two days then the tooth broke through. She was so clingy and nursed a lot. Once it broke it seemed like instant relief. Then she was fine for about a week, but now I fear the second one is trying to pop out.

Since getting her first tooth, Nattie Boo has decided it is acceptable to gnaw and bite me while nursing, which is excruciating! I am going to have to try breaking her of that before The damage gets so bad that I need cosmetic surgery to repair myself. She has earned the nickname "sharp-tooth" in our house!

I have used pain reliever (for both mom and baby!) but I am not so sure about the teething tablets....I have been wanting to try one of those amber stones for teething too. Anyone have any suggestions for soothing teething babies???

My little Jenna is turning 2 years old shortly! It's hard for me to believe that just 2 years ago I became a mother. I found this cute poem about first born daughters:

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So if you've been reading my updates on Natalie, you know that we found out she is allergic to dairy (via proteins in my breastmilk after I've consumed dairy). So I have been trying to go as dairy-free as possible.

Interestingly enough, I too have a dairy allergy/intolerance that I didn't even know about until now! Before Natalie's situation came about, I was not a huge dairy consumer, but I had milk with my cereal, occasional yogurt, cream cheese, other cheeses, cream-based sauces, etc. with no noticeable problem. I did notice that after I ate ice cream, I would sometimes get a belly ache. Nothing bad enough to really make note of, but definitely some discomfort.

Now after eliminating dairy from my diet, eating the littlest bit gives me a really bad belly ache! I guess I had built up a tolerance for it, and now that I don't eat it I have become sensitive to it.  For example, the other day I had mashed potatoes that must have had a bit of milk or sour cream in them. I got a really bad stomach ache. If I eat milk chocolate, I get another stomach ache. If I have milk-based sauces/creams/condiments, I get a belly ache.

It's all making sense to me now that I think about it...my mom said when I was a baby I had really bad colic (probably as result of my dairy allergy). Then as a young kid in elementary school I remember always having tummy aches after lunch. Sometimes I would go lay down in the nurse's office until the pain passed. Think about what is served with every kid's school lunch....A CARTON OF MILK! I went to my doctor and they told my mom I probably had IBS and that was pretty much it. As I went in to middle school and high school I drank less and less milk, so I didn't seem to have as many stomach issues and never made the connection.

Needless to say, I am going to be doing a whole lot more research on dairy allergies and cooking. Supposedly kids typically outgrow their dairy allergy and milk can be re-introduced, but I am not sure I really want to do that. There are plenty of other sources of calcium, vitamin d, phosphorous, etc. I've been using Almond Milk as a substitute and it's not bad. I wouldn't enjoy drinking a big ole glass of it, but in cereal, recipes, smoothies, it's perfectly fine.Vegetables and leafy greens are a great source of a lot of these essentials nutrients.

There are lots of folks out there who believe that dairy is bad for you (especially for autistic kids, people with gluten allergies, and IBS, heart disease, obesity). I found this article on 6 reasons dairy is bad. (And yes, I admit, I did giggle a bit like a 12-year old school girl when I saw the last name of the author was 'Hyman' LOL).

I also found another great blog source for going dairy free: Alisa Cooks and GoDairyFree.org.

Cheers to no dairy :-)

I decided to try making Natalie's baby food myself. The store-bought baby food is okay...I don't mind the fruits and some of the veggies, but some of it really grosses me out - especially the meat. I opened a jar of "chicken" and I swear it smelled like tuna. Anything that is NOT tuna that smells like tuna is bad news in my book.

I bought a baby food maker from Sur La Table and it was only $39.99. It steams and puree's and I really like it so far.

I started out making sweet potatoes. I couldn't believe how much better they tasted than the store-bought (and I thought the store-bought wasn't bad!). The second time I made sweet potatoes I used some that were "on their way out" if you know what I mean...I thought since they were going to be steamed and pureed anyway, it wouldn't matter. But it really does make a difference in flavor...the fresher the veggie/fruit, the better it tastes. It makes me wonder if baby food companies make most of theirs with not as fresh produce.

So far I really like making my own baby food. I try and make it in batches on a day and freeze for the week. I recently tried blending regular oatmeal with cranberries and apples (thanks for the idea Andrea!) and it came out pretty good! I also blended a beef roast w/ sweet potatoes and it came out super good too.

Weight: 15 lbs
Height: 26-ish inches
Sizes: Size 3 diapers, 6/9 mo clothes

Routine: Nattie Boo is still sleeping so good at night. Her naps have gotten shorter and more unpredictable, but she's still a pretty good napper, especially on her belly. I am still doing the no-dairy diet which seems to have helped her belly a lot.

Likes/Dislikes: She likes people a lot. She "talks" a lot and when she is mad she yells and yells until you make her happy! She also loves the bouncer and being carried around in the baby sling. Loves squealing and laughing. Loves being tickled.

Milestones: I started letting Nattie taste food a little after she turned 4 months. She LOVES food and now I have to feed her at least 4 or 5 times a day! She's not picky either...she loves it all. Except rice cereal so we skipped it. I've been making most of her food myself. She eats sweet potatoes, applesauce, blueberries, bananas, beef, avocado and carrots.

First trip to Las Cruces to visit Uncle Francis during graduation. She also went on her first camping trip and LOVED the outdoors.

She's had lots of teething signs but no teeth yet (thankfully)!

Natalie was baptized on May 6. Aside from the fact that she slept during mass and screamed during the baptism, it was a really beautiful day for our family.

She is not the most active of babies. I am extremely thankful for that though....I have enough stress chasing the toddler without having to worry bout Natalie yet! She can roll a bit and scoot/rotate, but she doesn't move too much yet!