Dinner for Two

Scarlet and Natalie are becoming friends....much to Charlie's dismay. It's very
common for Scarlet to be in Natalie's room when she's playing or in close proximity as Natalie makes her rounds throughout the house.

Lately, Scarlet has been very interested in Natalie's mealtimes...probably because she's never seen so much food land of the floor! I'm happy my two girls are becoming friends! And for those of you concerned about how Charlie has adjusted to life with a toddler....he runs for cover as soon as he sees her coming! Occasionally she'll start to pet him while he rests on the sofa but the look in his eyes is pure agitation and he tries to find the quickest escape route.

Bedlam!

Naptime is brutal for the stuffed animals in Natalie's crib. When we put her down we hide 3 or 4 stuffed toys under a blanket. When she wakes up she discovers this toy treasure and she has so much fun playing that she's content in her crib for up to 20 minutes ....a priceless gift for a mommy who works from home and depends on every second of those naps!

Well, yesterday and today, she was just squealing, giggling and screaming (happy screaming) in there...when I opened the door I realized she had sent everything over the rail...including all of the toys, one sock and both blankets. She was just standing up, peering over the rail, pointing at her victims, smiling and squealing. Almost all of them were facing up at their torturer just wondering what went wrong!



(this is exactly how I found everything...no staging for the photo shoot....I swear!!!)

Sweet Spring

Natalie loves being outside so much that she cries when we come in. If she hears the back door open it's only a matter of seconds before she's there and ready to go out. She's even started bringing me her shoes and then sitting in my lap to let me know she wants them on so she can be off and running!

We had such gorgeous weather today that we spent a lot of time just enjoying the sunshine. She loves sitting on the front steps and watching the cars, birds and mail lady go by!

Happy Hunting

Natalie was invited to her first Easter egg hunt today by our friends, Justin and Cassity. She didn't know what to think at first with so many little ones running around madly searching for eggs. Luckily, Cassity stood guard over a few on the lawn that Natalie could "find" all by herself without too much competition.

It was such a beautiful day that it was fun to be outside surrounded by cute kids and good friends....not to mention some amazing chocolate cupcakes. Thanks for inviting us, Justin and Cassity! And thanks to both grandmas for outfitting Little Miss for the holiday! What a lucky little bunny she is!

Brush Those Teeth

Natalie loves to brush her teeth.....meaning SHE loves to brush HER teeth. She refuses (most of the time) to let me help her so I'm hoping all that brushing she is doing is working. She has so many teeth now....4 on top and 4 on the bottom and 4 molars (and they all look beautifully straight!)! She handled the molars like a champ.

Oh, and I thought this step stool was a cute idea....until she fell off. We've put it away for a few more months. I don't know who learns more in a day....Natalie or her parents.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

I was amazed this morning when I put the same green dress on Natalie that she wore last St. Patrick's Day and it fit...as a shirt! I learned this trick from my mom....hang on to the dresses because they might work as shirts later on. Sure enough, the sleeves are now 3/4 length but it still fits her!

St. Patrick's Day poses a wardrobe challenge for Natalie as most everything she owns is pink or purple (with the occasional blue, thanks to Aunt Jackie). But this has been her only green item....except, of course, for her super cute swimsuit (thanks Grandma C)!

Can you believe how our little baby is growing up?

March 17, 2007....only 6 weeks old!

March 17, 2008....a walking little toddler!

Pajama Time

Natalie spends a lot of time in her jammies....and why not? They are so warm and comfy...at least they seem like they should be....and what other time in your life is it acceptable to spend most of the morning in pajamas?

Last night before bed she was all smiles. Aunt Ashley and Uncle Matt gave her a book called Butterfly Kisses and it came with a little butterfly finger puppet....well, that little puppet just brings out such grins and giggles as it "kisses" her!

And then this morning I found her reading Pajama Time....one of her cutest little Sandra Boynton books!

Oh, and the pout was her response to me tripping over her enormous green beach ball (thank you, Langdons) and falling on my fanny. It's so sweet that she was upset for me. I'm surprised she didn't laugh...it was pretty comical.

Goofy Girl

Just a few reasons why we laugh a lot more these days then ever before.

I had to have my eyes dilated a few weeks ago (darn these thirties) and I was sent out the door with these super cool shades. They've been a favorite Natalie and kitty toy over since.

Does this robe make my fanny look big?

Corey loves to create bath time hair experiments on Natalie....she's ready for her first hair trim but he says he's not ready!

Is there something on my cheek?

Natalie wants to feed herself these days but she inevitably just ends up launching her spoonful at me or the wall...this time she actually launched it right back at herself...it landed on her cheek and she didn't even notice or care. It stayed there the rest of her meal.

Little Helper

Natalie loves to help out around the house.

She helps me load the dryer with wet clothes (which means she tries to run with any wet article she can get her hands on and then constantly tries to slam the door shut before I'm finished). She helps Corey install new lights (which means she insists on standing under a snowstorm of ceiling dust as he drills and then tries to climb the step ladder behind him). And she helps me unload the dishwasher (which means she climbs INSIDE the dishwasher and grabs the utensils - clean or dirty- and hands them to me and then quickly gets out and, again, tries to shut the door before I'm finished sending the bottom rack of dishes crashing to the back).

It's a full day of helping. How did we get any projects done without her?

And no, I did NOT realize she was holding an extremely sharp knife until after I snapped the picture. Yikes!

1-800-Grandma

Yesterday I left Natalie in the living room while I ran into her bedroom for a minute and all of a sudden I hear Grandma Betty's voice saying, "hello?", "hello?"....I rushed back to Natalie to discover her holding my cell phone open and amazed that the phone was talking back to her. I had talked to Betty earlier and apparently Natalie had discovered how to re-dial the last call and put the phone on speakerphone....all within a matter of 2 minutes or less. I think it took me a month to learn how to use speakerphone on that phone! I couldn't believe it...she's always loved cell phones but I had no idea it would come to this...I'm going to have to watch my monthly minutes!

Spring Fever

Yesterday we had such gorgeous weather that Natalie and I played outside and watched Corey work on the house (he installed new light fixtures and they look great)! How nice of us to keep Mr. Home Improvement company, right? We are definitely not helpful as Natalie proceeded to spread mud from a flower pot all over the deck that Corey had just finished power washing. And without thinking...I let her because she loves playing in dirt so much.

Natalie still isn't quite sure how to walk on grass so she resorts to crawling again.....which she never does on carpet! She's all about walking when she's on familiar terrain inside. Although, she was determined to master a small step on our deck and she did it....after about 15 solid minutes of STEP UP, STEP DOWN she was a pro. She just smiled and kept stepping!

She really enjoys being outside. And her parents love how it wears her right out and leads to a 2+ hour nap!