Natalie celebrated her first St. Patrick's Day on Saturday. We had a very low key day by playing outside, doing a little cleaning, and cooking corned beef- all while wearing green! St. Patrick's Day is definitely not a big deal for us, but it was Natalie's first. It was also her last first holiday. Even though Natalie will celebrate Easter before she turns one, it will not be her first Easter. I almost had a meltdown in the middle of Target when I realized I couldn't buy Natalie a "Baby's First Easter" bib! Last year Natalie came home from the hospital the day before Easter so she celebrated at only 3 days old. If you think about it, Easter and Thanksgiving are about the only two major holidays that could be celebrated twice in less than a year.
Spring Break started out early Friday afternoon after I got home from a planning day. Nathan, Natalie, and I played all afternoon outside. Nathan even had some luck catching a couple of bass. Natalie enjoyed walking around the pond exploring and tried to touch the bass!
It's a Kendall tradition to run the Gate River Run 15K. By Kendall, I mean Nathan and his brother Mark...definitely not me (maybe one year...we'll see...)! The first two years Mark beat Nathan. This year they decided to up the ante by adding a plaque to the mix. Nathan's mom had a plaque made to say "Family River Run Champion". There are 12 plates that can be engraved with the winner's name and the year. The first two have Mark's name and now the third one has Nathan's! Gabriel, Natalie, and I were there cheering the boys on. They both did great and made it in well under an hour and a half, their goal. Nathan beat Mark by about 40 seconds. That may not seem like much but keep in mind they ran 9.3 miles total and were averaging about 9 and 1/2 minute miles. In running time, 40 seconds is quite a bit!
It was definitely difficult entertaining Natalie for that amount of time so I apologize for the lack of Natalie pictures! Gabriel got a little bored as well but enjoyed getting a few photos of some of the crazy get-ups we saw this year! We saw fire fighters geared up, hula shirts, masks, guys in their boxers, and the most popular- tutus. Here's just a couple of the creative runners we saw:
Hula skirt carrying a sign
Tutus
Fire fighter
Another tutu
The guys at the post race celebration
The plaque with Nathan's cups and medals.
Gabriel did a great job taking pictures for me. Natalie was a little high maintenance but made it to see her daddy cross the finish line. We didn't get any pictures of the guys because we were more concerned with cheering them on. Nathan happened to be running on the same side as we were standing so Gabriel got a high five from our Gate River Run Champion!
And just because I know what you really came to see...
My mom got Natalie a Thing 1 outfit months ago. It was before we knew Natalie was a girl and it may have even been before I was pregnant! This year, Natalie was able to celebrate Dr. Seuss' 108th birthday by wearing her Thing 1 outfit and reading some of Dr. Seuss' most famous books! Natalie and I read together everyday, but she is just starting to notice that I point to the words as I read them. Now when she "reads" a book, she loves to point her finger. It is precious!
Our silly Thing 1
Playing with her Thing 1 and 2 that Mary Beth got for her!
55 seconds. The time it takes to unload the dishwasher, run a load of clothes, quickly tidy up a room, take an uninterrupted potty break, make a bed, begin fixing dinner, or fold clothes. It's not a coincidence that 55 seconds is also the length of The Backyardigans theme song. Natalie's favorite show is The Backyardigans. It's not because it's funny or because she likes the adventures they go on, it is because she loves their singing and dancing! There are times when I have to rewind an episode and let her watch it a few times so I can get something done. She doesn't miss a beat and immediately starts dancing. Natalie has got some moves and loves to dance along!
Now that Natalie has started walking, she loves to practice. She has learned that if she loses her balance, she can sit back and fall gracefully. Sometimes she does it just because she doesn't want to walk anymore! If she isn't in the mood to practice, she'll kick out her legs when we try to stand her up.
Natalie also loves to push her Mickey car. If she has a straight path she will practically run across the house with it.
We had quite a busy weekend with Gabriel and Natalie. It is an annual tradition to go to the Reptile Show, but this year Repticon came to town a little early. Last year, Natalie went to her first on Mother's Day at only 17 days old! This year was quite different- she did not sleep in the stroller the entire time, instead she wanted to get down and crawl/walk all over! With all of the people (and all of the nasty germs) that didn't happen, so we had a very fiesty baby on our hands!
Disclaimer: Mom, if you continue looking, you will see a wonderful family picture but we are standing in front of a gigantic inflatable snake. No, it doesn't look real but it is still a snake. No, there are no live snake pictures below. And yes, you did just have to read the "S" word a couple of times. The following three pictures involve a fake "S" word.
Gabriel and Natalie
This picture cracks me up. Gabriel: "Courtney, take a picture of us looking up at the snake." So I take it and there Natalie is looking up at the snake just like Gabriel.
Natalie and Grammo
A Day Outside
The rest of our Saturday was spent outside. Natalie loves the trampoline, and Gabriel loves to take her on it! The boys caught some fish for our bass, played basketball on the trampoline, and grilled out.
Natalie is 10 months! Double digits, are you kidding me?? The last month has flown by. It doesn't surprise me anymore, it just makes me a little sad. :( Our baby is growing up, and she's continuing to grow into such a fun, sweet, smart girl! Natalie has such a strong, outgoing personality. She loves to giggle and play. She is ready to go as soon as I get her out of her crib in the morning. Even when she gets sleepy and has had a long day, a quick walk outside and she is all smiles!
Natalie and Kitty are BFFs
It's been a big month for us. Natalie is trying new foods daily. She still is unsure of most and would prefer to eat baby food and drink milk for the rest of her life! Although, she did really enjoy ice cream. She loved it so much, she attempted to climb on the coffee table to get the bowl! She ate it with Daddy and followed the spoon with her mouth wide open the entire time.
Trying a chocolate chip cookie
Natalie is talking up a storm! She has learned to say "goggy" and tends to use it when really excited or when talking about the dog or cat. I think she's trying to say doggy, but she says "goggy, goggy, goggy" over and over. Daddy taught her how to use her fingers to change the sounds she makes. She is pretty much a genius and picked up on it in like a day. She loves to play games with Daddy and try out all of the tricks she knows.
Let the walking begin! Natalie has decided at 10 months to start walking. She doesn't do it all of the time yet, and she still has a ways to go, but she is on her way. I think she will be running, skipping, and hopping by her birthday at the rate she's going!
We are so in love with our baby girl. It amazes us daily how fast she's growing and how smart she's getting.
Discovering the open window
....Discovering the open window
Discovering Kitty likes the open window too!
Natalie's Current Favs: playing on the trampoline, going on walks in the wagon, eating sweet potato puffs and cheesy puffs, watching the Backyardigans, watching the ducks and all wildlife in the backyard, looking for birds and planes in the sky, attempting to play in the toilet (which is a big no-no), being outside in general, drinking juice from the sippy she picked out with Daddy, doing fun big brother stuff with Gabriel, and of course loving on the three of us.
Natalie's Current Dislikes: Most solid foods, riding in the car (STILL!!!), being held...while outside or at the store, being put down...while at home so I can get something done, and sleeping in.
