But then I looked at the sizing chart:

Stage 1: 8-14 lb., 44 diapers
Stage 2: 12-18 lb., 40 diapers
Stage 3: 16-28 lb., 35 diapers
Stage 4: 22-37 lb., 30 diapers
Stage 5: 27+ lb., 26 diapers
Stage 6: 35+ lb., 22 diapers

and I realized that at 22 pounds, Natalie is at the very lowest weight for size 4 and still well within the weight recommendation for size 3! We also realized that the leaks didn’t seem to be a problem of absorbency—it was more like Natalie would sit a certain way, causing a gap between her leg and the diaper, and pee would just soak into her clothes. We got some size 3 diapers, which seemed small after she’s been wearing the size 4s, but we’ve haven’t had any more problems with leaks! As a bonus, the size 3 diapers include 5 more diapers per pack!!

So, is Natalie shrinking? Probably not. I think she’s just gotten taller, but not gained much weight, which means that her legs are not as chubby as they once were.

Natalie said…drumroll please…

“Oh no, it’s dirty!”

Here’s a picture of one of Natalie’s favorite camping activities: washing the storage bins!

And I couldn’t resist pulling out these pictures of the “driving cousins” from last summer for comparison’s sake!

Look how much they’ve grown and changed in a year’s time:

Generally being cute:

Eating a whole tomato like an apple:

Sleeping in Daddy’s arms:

Playing with hammocks:

Making funny faces in the woods:

Hanging out with Aunt Katy:

Saying “Good Morning Newts!” every day:

Chris & Katy enjoyed organizing the camp kitchen:

And Natalie loved standing on tree trunks pretending the be The Lorax:

I’ve found that there are lots of things to feel guilty about on this parenting journey. The latest pangs of guilt had to do with Natalie’s shoes. She’s been wearing the same size shoes for a while, and since I was still able to put her shoes on, I didn’t think much of it. Last Saturday, Natalie started pointing to her shoes and crying. We went to the shoe store, where her feet measured a size and a half bigger than the shoes she’d been wearing. Oops.

While I was changing Natalie’s diaper this morning, she was talking about the two pink bracelets she was wearing. She can’t quite pronounce “bracelet” correctly, so it took me a few minutes before I understood what she was trying to say. Chris overheard the conversation and said, “it sounds like she’s saying ‘bullshit.’” Anyone want to guess what Natalie then started saying next??

We’re going camping in Massachusetts next week—Natalie’s first camping trip! Wish us luck…

Natalie is quite the little helper in the garden! She loves to water the tomatoes:

She loves to help pick them…

and gathering them:

And eat them! (only I didn’t get a picture of her eating them)

Despite her loathing of baths, Natalie still likes to hang out in the pool:

Especially with Grandma:

The mango sorbet for dessert was a big hit:

We actually bought her a potty about 4 months ago when Natalie started reporting what was in her diaper. As soon as Chris took it out of the box, she carried it around the kitchen shouting, “Poopy! Poopy! POOPY!!!!!” Here she is trying it out:

She’s been sitting on the potty almost everyday since then, but with her clothes still on. Recently she started taking bits of toilet paper to wipe herself with.

This morning, we were playing in her room just after waking up when Natalie said, “Poopy!” I thought she was reporting that she already went, but when I got her to the changing table and opened her diaper, it was empty. So I asked her if she needed to go and if she wanted to sit on the potty. She nodded, so off to the bathroom we went. And she went! In the potty!! We made a big fuss, congratulated her, gave high-fives, etc. She liked helping transfer the goods to the big toilet and saying “bye-bye” as it got flushed away.

After all the excitement was over, my first thought was (of course!) “what should I title the blog post?”