Park Days with Daddy

My parents have a big park with a playground in their neighborhood. After Nathan picks up Natalie, they have a routine of going to the park a couple times a week. They explore, go down the slide, play on the see saw, and Natalie's favorite- swing. Nathan says Natalie loves the swings so much, she cries if he stops! Although I don't get to go to the park with Natalie, I do get pictures and videos often at work!

This explains why I find rubber mulch all over the house!

Natalie trying to help spin the merry-go-round.

Natalie discovered the see saw!

A Great Weekend With Family

May 5th

On Friday we headed up to South Carolina for a double header- Gabriel's baseball game and Parker's soccer game. It was a jam-packed, wonderful weekend! After the games were over, we headed back to the hotel for a little swimming. We then headed out to the beach for Natalie's first real trip! Natalie loved walking up and down in the shallow water, having the sand dripped over her feet, and looking at the fishies. While Natalie was exploring, the big boys were catching fish by kicking them out of the water. It was a beautiful day to be at the beach!

On the playground before the game.

Swinging with Daddy.

Grammo and Natalie

Gabriel playing baseball.

Brother and sister

Gabriel, Natalie, and cousin Parker

Taking a break before watching Parker play soccer.

Such a good daddy!

Cousin Jake getting sunscreen on.

She thought it was so funny that Nathan was holding the umbrella!

Parker playing soccer (number 2).

Relaxing in the pool.

Natalie's first real trip to the beach.

Looking at the fishy Uncle Mark caught.

Lovin' the beach!

Playing with Daddy.

Natalie walking with cousin Austin and Grammo.

The Party of the Year

April 21st

Natalie's birthday party went off without a hitch! Everything was perfect and most was handmade! My sister, Kristy, made Natalie's smash cake, cupcakes, and brownie pops. My mom made tons of decorations, the pom poms, and all of the candy buffet goodies. I made Natalie's birthday banners, time capsule, door hanger, and drink labels. I'm sure I'm forgetting some things too! I really felt like this birthday was so special because of all of the heart and thought that so many people put into it. Natalie really is a lucky girl!

Although we were worried about rain, it held off until after the party was over. This worked out great considering we had tents and tables outside as well as a bounce house! The kids, both big and small, loved the bounce house. Most of our family was able to come and even some of Natalie's friends!

Natalie got so many wonderful gifts- books, clothes, Violet the dog, a water table, bath toys, a shape sorter, a popper, a cozy coupe to drive, a grocery cart, beach toys, a chase me kitty, her first Bible, and too many others to name! She was definitely ready for some big girl toys and loves them all!

I wanted this party to be special because this was a celebration of Natalie's first year with us. The past year has been such a blessing, and it's all because of our sweet girl!

Happy Birthday baby girl! We love you!



All photos taken by TK Photography :) Thanks Thomas!

The cake table with cupcakes, brownie pops, and the candy buffet.

Goodies and banner.

The perfect smash cake!

The banner I made using Natalie's monthly pictures.

A little unsure at first...

She finally got into it!

Her grocery cart from Grandma and Poppa.

Her new ride.

Being a silly girl.

Modeling her new hat.

Enjoying her first brownie pop.

Gabriel and Natalie

A family picture with our birthday girl!

Our One Year Old Baby Girl

April 21st

Natalie has changed so much this month. Here are just a few new things she has learned.



Natalie playing with her new kitty toy.



Natalie loves to stand on her ride on toy. While I was doing dishes, she came over to help. I had no idea she was standing on the steering wheel until Nathan pointed it out!





Natalie reading "Are You Ticklish?" with Daddy.

Who needs a door? Natalie loves her new ride from Poppa and Grandma.

Natalie has always been interested in Kitty's food. She tried a couple times to grab it but eventually realized she wasn't supposed to touch it. She has learned to be quite creative and will stick her foot in it. This was when I caught her completely standing in his bowl.

Natalie in Kitty's food

Natalie and cousin Jake playing with Natalie's new water table from Grammo.

Natalie playing soccer.

Our talented girl eating banana muffins.

Natalie's new thing is piling up clothes on top of her. She doesn't care if they are clean or dirty, she just loves to stack everything up. It is pretty funny to watch because she piles the clothes and takes them off one by one. She will do this over and over.

After pulling out her PJs, Daddy helped her pile them up!

Natalie has learned to ask for "more". She always asks for more when eating cookies.

Twelve Months!

April 21st

My whole life I've wanted to be a mom. I guess I had other dreams too, but being a mom was always the most important. After trying for months, years really, I was so overjoyed when I got pregnant with Natalie. Don't get me wrong, I was also negative, neurotic, emotional, and pretty much crazy throughout my entire pregnancy, but I knew if everything went as planned that the day Natalie was born would be the happiest day of my life. Everything did go as planned, and I was right. One year ago, my world changed. I became the mother of the most perfect baby girl. My baby girl, my saving grace. My Natalie Grace.

One year. I can't believe it's been a year. Not just any year, the best year of my life. The fastest too. Our baby girl and this last year have forever changed my life. I can't imagine the last year without Natalie, and I can only imagine the rest of my life with her in it!

Our little girl is the sweetest, smartest, most beautiful baby in the entire world. She is changing so much, and it is so hard to keep up with all of her new skills! Not only is she walking, she is starting to run. She even learned to play soccer by watching Daddy and Gabriel. As they were trying to play a game, she came in and took the ball. She loves to walk around and kick the ball now.

She is now totally eating real people food!! Huge accomplishment! Her favorite meal is breakfast, and she loves banana muffins or any kind really. She usually eats breakfast twice -once with me when I drop her off at Poppa's and again later with Poppa. She loves her snacks and especially loves chocolate chip cookies! She has learned to sign "more" by eating cookies. She will ask for more after every bite. She also has learned "all done" but hasn't perfected when to use it.

Natalie loves to squeal, scream, talk, babble, and make any sort of sound. She mimicks her Daddy big time and loves to practice her new words. She is saying mama, dada, and duck, along with various sounds that are beginning to sound like real words. She giggles and laughs constantly and has a smile on her face almost all day. She loves to play with her toys inside and out, but her new favorite is reading. She enjoys reading her books. She grabs a book from her basket and brings it to us all the time. She has her favorites so we have read some quite a few times!

Daddy and Natalie have a routine with going to the park. About 2-3 times a week, they stop at the park after leaving Poppa's house. Natalie swings, they swing together, she spins on the Merry-Go-Round, and Natalie explores the rubber mulch. She has such a great time, and I get surprised with weekly pictures and videos while at work. I love that Nathan has this special time with her, and I know how much they both enjoy it. Our little girl even has a tan!!

I could go on and on, but I'm going to separate this post into a couple different ones.

Flasback:

One onesie (0-3 months), one chair, one baby throughout one year

I wish I knew why this picture was a different size!!!

Favorites at one year: Being outside, exploring anything and everything, watching the ducks, petting Kitty, waving, smiling, eating banana muffins, snacking on cookies and cheesy puffs, taking baths with Mommy, getting chased by Daddy, climbing and standing on dangerous objects, hanging out with Gabriel and playing with his big boy toys, the Backyardigans, going to the park with Daddy, and being a lovey dovey to all her favorites!

Dislikes: The car STILL, dinnertime (most nights), letting Mommy get anything done after work, most vegetables, whole milk- unless it's chocolate, and sleeping in.