Flower Walks

Natalie's new obsession is FLOWERS. She can't get enough of them...literally. We take walks around our neighborhood almost every day and she needs to stop and pick every kind of flower she comes across. By the time we're on our way home she has a small, colorful bouquet in her stroller tray.

This sweet little Arizonan is perfectly content with the limited amount of desert flowers (all from shrubs)that she knows. If she only knew...the yard we lived in this time last year boasted 21 different azaleas, rhododendrons taller than her mother, 2 gorgeous lilac bushes and her very own magnolia tree. Excuse me while I pause to miss Asheville blooming!

Back to the walks. She's learned her colors...not because she's necessarily all that interested in learning colors (I've been quizzing her with paint chips for months and made little progress), but because it makes it much easier to make "picking requests" from the comfort of her stroller as we pass a blossom she must have. "I want an orwange one, Mommy", " I want a purhpul one, Daddy". "I want a wed one!". She points, we pick. That is until she gets out of her stroller and insists on picking herself. We have picking protocol...no picking flowers that people planted or that involve trespassing. We do have to change our routes every few days or else it's only a matter of time before we encounter a gardener who figures out why her flowering shrub isn't pushing the buds this year!

The Picktator from her throne.

She plays the petals right off these flowers.

Mine, mine, mine.

Natalie has hit that lovely toddler stage of "mine, mine, mine"! She reminds me all day everyday that things are HERS. I'll offer to carry her doll/books/jacket/rocks/purse/flowers/balls (or whatever else she insists on taking with her as we head out the door) and she'll say, "no, mine, Mommy!".

The other day she was sitting in her high chair playing with play-doh and she was rolling it up into balls. Then, because it's impossible not to throw a ball of any kind, she threw it onto the floor. Because her play-doh is about played-out it's dry (instead of sticky) and it rolled. Scarlet thought this was great and started batting the play-doh ball around the kitchen. Natalie was beside herself, trapped in her high chair with no means of escape as Scarlet batted her dry play-doh ball around the room. She frantically started shouting, "no, mine, no mine...STOP...mine, mine, mine!" Oh, Natalie!

And the best was the other day when we showed up to the park (which, in Natalie's defense, we usually have all to ourselves) and there were other kids playing on the slides and swings. She got out of the stroller, scowled and shouted, "no, MINE park!" to everyone in earshot. Oh, I hope this possessiveness passes soon!

Nana and Ammy come to town...

We had such a fun week! Corey's mom and sister, Amber, came to visit and couldn't get enough of Natalie. I don't think I changed a diaper, wiped a nose or gave her a bath all week! They did it all! And Natalie couldn't get enough of them, either. When I went in to get her out of the crib the other day (unaccompanied by either Betty or Amber) she scowled, shook her head and said, "no, no, no, no...where's Nana?"

We loved showing both of them glimpses of our world here in Arizona and I think they both enjoyed the March sunshine. We love you both and we're so happy you came. We miss you terribly.

Natalie loved seeing the pictures of herself after a Nana photo shoot.

On one of our many, many walks.

On the last morning they were here, Nana and Ammy brought Natalie a waffle for breakfast. She was in heaven...a waffle AND an audience while you eat? It doesn't get better than that!

A common side effect of being with the camera happy Brooks girls is that I become a major photo slacker. I know that they will get oodles and oodles of shots and make sure I have a copy of each one so I don't reach for my own camera as often as I should. I'll be posting more pics in a few days when I get their collection.

Favorite Phrases

When we left Asheville over 6 months ago (that's hard to believe), we were really concerned at Natalie's lack of discernible words. She was pretty much just saying "oof oof" and "meow" when she saw the appropriate pet. I should clarify...those were the only words we could understand...there was a lot of talking...just not words or phrases that we could make out.

Well, how half a year can change things. These are some of our favorite new Natalie phrases (yes, sentences...sort of...not just words. It's awesome...most of the time):

- When I suggest we go for a nap or change a diaper...

"no tanks, I fine, Mommy"

-When she burps...

"oops...shooze me"

(as she covers her mouth and giggles)

-When I try to do anything for her...

"No, no, no...Natalie do it, Natalie do it."

-When I start singing...

"no singing, Mommy."
I don't know if she's offended by my voice or just prefers to be a soloist . I prefer to think it's the latter.

-Any time either Corey or I are doing something slightly interesting to her....

"whatchudooooine, Daddy?" or "whatchudooooine, Mommy?"

- And our personal favorite...

"wuv you, bye" (accompanied by a blown kiss)

directed to the parent left behind when she's leaving the house with only one of us OR when she's leaving the room without either of us. She's into grand entrances and exits!

Every day there are more words in her vocabulary and it's so much fun to figure out what they are.

The Cupcake Cure

Natalie has been battling a terrible respiratory virus this week and it's been hard on her. Her cough is awful and keeps her (and her parents) up most of the night. She's been a mix of pitiful and sweet and grumpy and feisty...keeping her tired mommy desperate for something that would make her smile.

Last night it occurred to me...CUPCAKES! I went to the store after Corey got home to get the necessary ingredients and this morning we made cupcakes. I opted for carrot cake cupcakes (much to Corey's dismay...he was begging for a yellow cake Betty Crocker mix as I left for the store last night) and she loved them. She devoured one after lunch in about 90 seconds and kept saying, "tank you, mommy...tank you!"

We've been loose on a few rules this week, too...the Dora and Elmo videos run whenever she asks, she gets to drink apple juice (that is, water with a little bit of juice in it), and she's been able to stand outside and eat her lunch on the patio. For some reason not having to sit down and eat is a big thrill for Natalie...especially when she can wash her meal-on-the-run down with juice! So, let's hope we haven't really created a monster by Monday!

She seems to be feeling a tiny bit better today so we're hoping she'll kick this bug to curb over the weekend.

Working Girl

I returned from a brief bathroom break today and this is how I found Natalie......



I asked her what she thought she was doing, but she couldn't answer...she had to take a call...

She continued to "work" for a few minutes until I begged for my seat back. Her phone skills are quite good (she can talk while taking a message, as you can see), so I'm thinking of hiring her as my assistant. Although at the end of every conversation, she does sign off with, "wuv you...bye."...which might catch a few callers off guard.

Ready, Go, Set!

That's what Natalie says lately as she sits on the top of the slide right before take-off. She also says it as she climbs back UP the slide!

It was a gorgeous day here today and we spent time at the park this morning. Corey once told her that if she makes a loud "quack"ing sound, the ducks will come to her. He told that to her at a park with ducks. This park had no ducks today nor any other day we've ever been there, but that didn't stop her from quacking as she played...just hoping, I guess!




We picked a few huge lemons on our way and she carried them with her almost the entire time.