The Park

We took Natalie to the park last night for the first time since she has been old enough to enjoy the play equipment and.....she's hooked! She could have swung in that swing all night long. We should have known she'd love swinging....her baby swing was the ONLY place she would nap for the first six months of her life. I remember panicking when I read the swing instructions and discovered the weight limit was 22 lbs. I just couldn't imagine at the time not having the swing to put her to sleep in....I was imagining bracing it to the ceiling to buy myself a few more months if necessary. Thankfully, she learned to like sleeping flat and without wind before she hit 22 lbs.

Last night I half expected her to doze off right then and there.....but thanks to Corey, this swing was going quite a bit higher and faster than that baby swing so she was squealing instead!

River Trail

We took Natalie on one of our favorite hikes today. It's a trail along the Swannanoa River and it's such a pretty walk at any time of year. The trail follows the curving path of the river and there is a beautiful pasture on the other side so it's picturesque no matter what direction you look.

We experimented with our baby backpack today (thanks, Aunt Kristen) and Natalie didn't quite know what to think. We made the mistake of letting her out to play along the river and then she did not have any interest in going back in the backpack. After quite a protest we coaxed (forced) her back in but we've now learned Corey can't stop, sit or even really slow down when she's in there or she gets too restless. He's been looking for an excuse not to sit still and now he has one!

A very patient, creative hiker before us created these elaborate rock towers.

This was the only real smile of the afternoon....when we got back to the car and she knew she'd be released soon.
She'll learn to like it....we hope!

The Joy of Napping

You've probably noticed that Natalie's crib is a common backdrop for photos around here....there is good reason for this....Natalie is absolutely happiest after she wakes up from a nap. Yet one more trait she does NOT get from her mother (I am such a grump after a nap that it's better if I just stay awake).

She gets so excited when we go in to get her...she just starts squealing and pointing and running around her crib. Today she was absolutely cracking herself up as she peeked at me through the crib bars (thinking I couldn't see her) and then sloooowwwwly looking over the crib rail, and of course it all ended with her laughing and clapping wildly. Most games end with clapping....she just considers it such an appropriate finale to all her activities!

Year of the Cicadas

We interupt this Natalie picture palooza to bring you a little entomology lesson....this is the year of the cicadas here in Asheville and it's been really interesting learning about these noisy little bugs.

They're pretty amazing insects...they're totally harmless, just a little creepy, and they create a hum in the forests that is right out of a horror movie. It's all you hear in our neighborhood these days....a loud, constant, collective chirping.

They have a pretty fascinating life. They lay their eggs in the bark of trees and when the eggs hatch they drop to the ground where they can stay hidden anywhere from 2 to 17 years! They finally emerge to the surface, shed their skin on a tree trunk or plant and at that point are a full fledged adult...finally. The empty skins stay where they leave them and consequently many trees in our neighborhood are covered with these skeleton shells.

Natalie and I went on a hunt for a few this morning to snap some photos but only got a few focused images....so I stole most of these images from wikipedia. Okay...bug babble is over...we'll be back to Natalie pics tomorrow!

Before it sheds it's shell.

Newly out of it's shell.

An adult cicada.

This was a rare sighting where there were only 3 on a telephone pole. There are usually about 100 per tree trunk.

Under the Sea!

Natalie saw fish for the first time at the pet food store the other day and was really fascinated so we decided to drive to Gatlinburg, TN today to the Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies so she could see some enormous fish. Corey and I had been a few years ago and although we weren't sure if Natalie was quite ready for all this sea creature craziness we thought we'd give it a shot.

Well, she LOVED it. She was so excited looking at the fish, sharks, stingrays, jellyfish, seahorses, piranahs, and sea turtles that it was difficult to pry her away from the glass. She would squeal, point, double point (that's pointing in both directions because you're so excited you can't decide what to point to first) and "talk" about how amazing it was with the kids standing next to her.

This aquarium is really cool for those of you in the area. You have a sea floor view of the sharks and sea turtles as you walk through the aquarium under their habitat. There are so many amazing sea species on display there and lots of hands on stuff for older kids like touching the horseshoe crabs and going up inside an open cylinder in a seahorse tank to get a 360 degree view of these sweet creatures.
What a fun way to spend a cloudy, rainy day in the Smokies!

 

Shoes!

Natalie is fascinated with shoes...her own and everybody else's. She loves finding a pair sitting around and she'll put one...or both...on and take a walk around the room. The only problem is she's so easily frustrated when a shoe slips off her foot that she has a fit until she gets settled back into it....hence the scowls.

The best part is when she just goes about playing while wearing one of our shoes. It slows her down a little, but she seems to like the added challenge. The other day I looked over at her playing with her little car and noticed she had my running shoe on....the wrong foot...which is surprisingly rare!

Rachel's Shoes

My Shoes

She even wears Corey's shoes.....did I mention she was DETERMINED?

What's Up?

Natalie loves these sunglasses.

(Emma, you might recognize them and if you want them back we'll pop them in the mail right away....Aunt Char/Grandma C found them in her car and didn't know they weren't Natalie's until they'd made it all the way to Asheville...sorry!)

She prefers to wear them upside down and tilts her head up the entire time to keep them from sliding off....then she wanders around VERY slowly. I really have to get a picture of her playing the piano with them on for the full Stevie Wonder effect...stay tuned.

This bud's for you!

We've got our work cut out for us this summer keeping Natalie from pulling all the blossoms off of every flower in our yard. Spring has turned our yard into a kaleidoscope of color (right at her level) so the temptation is far too great to pass up. Tonight while I was taking a few pictures of her she managed to grab two in the blink of an eye...I just can't react fast enough to save these blossoms. Sorry flowers!