Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Our First Real Beach Trip

May 11th

Natalie has been to the beach twice before, however this was her first real beach day. We packed up the car and headed out early. We knew we wanted to beat the crowd and the heat! Plus we drove to St. Augustine so we could drive on the beach. One of the things I hate about the beach is lugging all of the junk from the car to the beach. This eliminates all of that! With a two month old baby along for the trip, I definitely wanted easy access to the car and air conditioner if need be! 

Nathan and I had no clue what we were in for...and by "we" I mean him! Natalie discovered the water and the waves, and it was all over. For about the next two to three hours Natalie was in the water. She loved it! She did play in the sand a little bit and stop for a snack break, but honestly she was in the water the entire time. Abigail was a delight and slept most of the morning. This made it incredibly easy to keep her in the stroller and out of the sun. We had a fabulous time and will return soon! 

Enjoying a decaf Starbucks on the way.

Our beach babe




Enjoying the sand with her super cool color changing sand toys!

Checking out the hammerhead that a nearby fisherman caught.

Enjoying the waves.

Doing what she does best!

A little awake time.

Loving on her Daddy!

Abigail's first beach trip!



Cheesin' for the camera

Taking a break in the back of the car.

After a long day at the beach this is what you get!

Our Traditional Walk

April 26th

Natalie loves going on walks. Going on a nightly walk has been a tradition of ours for a while. She wants us to both go, and we always have to go to the front of the neighborhood to see the water. It's not the pond that Natalie likes, it's the big fountain in the middle. It wasn't too long after Abigail was born that our walks started up again. It became a little trickier because we couldn't just put Natalie in her wagon and go. At first we would pull the wagon and push the stroller, and then we wised up and bought a double stroller. Although Natalie prefers to walk on our walks, there has been a time or two when she needed a break. It's nice to get a little fresh air, plus there is always something exciting to do or discover with Daddy around!

Natalie looking at the water.

Abi enjoying the outside.

Taking a walk with Daddy around the pond.

Sweet girl

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Natalie is Two!

April 21st

It's hard to believe Natalie is already two years old. I no longer get to say her age in months! Natalie has changed so much throughout the past couple of months. She is growing into a little lady and a very smart one at that! I feel like it all happened over night. She is no longer a baby but a big girl. Natalie loves to sing and knows a ton of songs. We play "Toddler Radio" on Pandora in the car so she listens to a plethora of songs. She loves to sing along to Apples and Bananas, the ABC song, and really just about anything they play. She is getting better at being in the car but is still very feisty!

This past month has been a little different. Natalie has been home with me on maternity leave. She has been staying up later, sleeping in (a tiny bit), and relaxing at the house most days. Her newest favorite cartoons are Dora and Diego. She is still eating chocolate chip muffins almost daily for breakfast and her lunch choices do not vary too much either- mac n cheese, chicken nuggets, hot dogs, or "ham" and cheese on toothpicks (which is really turkey). She is definitely a selective eater!

One of her new favorite things is "Family Movie Night". Now FMN is not anything new. We have done this for years with Gabriel. We just pick a kid friendly movie, pop some popcorn, and usually pick out one special treat to have. Nathan and I had no clue just how much she would love the popcorn part! Like she asks for it all day every day now! She also loves to have a smoothie. There have been a couple of times when she has started with popcorn and a smoothie and then asked for ice cream. Why not!! It definitely is a lot of work to contain the mess on the couch, but it's well worth it. Her first official FMN movie was "Brave". She actually sat through the whole thing!

The birthday girl!

Pancake puffs with birthday candles.

A birthday cupcake to celebrate again!

Cheesin' it up!
Going on a walk with Cleo and Winnie the Pooh.

Enjoying some popcorn during Family Movie Night

"Look Pooh, it's you!" Another Family Movie Night!
Sitting in her new stroller coloring.
Ever heard of a Roo Cup? I really recommend one! After buying the cup, you get unlimited $.25 refills on cold beverages all summer long at any Kangaroo Express. I got one for my birthday from my parents since I LOVE icees! Well apparently Natalie loves icees too because she quickly took it over! She loves "blue drinks" and does not like to share! Stopping to get a blue drink quickly became a tradition for Nathan and Natalie after the park. I don't know what we will do when summer is over!
The beginning of the "blue drink"!




Our sweet darlin'!

Her attempt at "cheese!"


I can't believe I've been a mommy for two years. Time really has flown by, and it's been the best two years of my life. I can't imagine my life without Natalie! She has brought so much joy and laughter to my life, and I can't wait to watch her continue to grow into a young lady! I know she will be grown up in the blink of an eye so I'm enjoying every minute with her. Happy Birthday sweet girl!

Friday, July 5, 2013

Natalie's 2nd Birthday Party!

April 20th

For Natalie's 2nd birthday party, I decided to make it an Elmo theme. Although Natalie rarely watches Sesame Street, she loves Elmo! It was definitely a collaborative effort to get everything organized and ready to go, but it was well worth it! Natalie had all of her friends come to play and celebrate with her. It was a miserable day outside so we weren't able to set up the bounce house. That didn't stop the kiddos from having a fun time in the play room. We grilled out, played, opened presents, and had cake and lots of goodies. It was a perfect birthday party even with the rain! 

Welcome to Natalie's party!

The kiddie table.

Chips, veggies, and fruit.

The rice krispy treats that Aunt Kristy made.

Cake and cupcakes also by Aunt Kristy!

The beautiful cake table with a small candy buffet.

Natalie playing with her toy just like Conner and Cooper showed her.

Presents!


Laura, GG, Grammo, and Katie

The birthday girl with her new baby..that has a potty to poo in!

My friends Rose and Suzanne holding Abi

Happy Birthday to you!

My friend Janice and her baby Ava

Jenn with Hannah and Hadley and Nolan

Aunt Kristy with Abi

Jenn with Hadley

GG holding Abi

Natalie playing with Uncle Thomas.

Natalie with her friend Nolan

Janice, Conner, and Cooper in the background!

Nathan with his grandparents.

Natalie trying on her Rapunzel dress.
After the birthday crowd cleared out so did the rain. Natalie and Gabriel were then able to jump in the bounce house!