Halloween!

Well, we didn't take Natalie trick or treating in the neighborhood, but we went to Zoolie Ghoulie at the Henson Robinson Zoo with Rod and his kids. Natalie was a Unicorn this year, and loved to "fly" (running with her arms spread out).

She also got to trick or treat at the retirement home adjacent to her daycare this morning with the rest of her class friends! Here are a few photos of our little Unicorn (and a bonus shot of Natalie dressed as the late Steve Jobs!):

Best Buds!

Nickie took this shot of Natalie and Pumba. Love that smile!

Pumpkin Picker!

We took Natalie to the Apple Barn in Chatham last Sunday to pick out a few pumpkins. We had fun examining all of the possible choices and picking out a few treats from their bakery!

Talking to Grammie

Natalie often talks on her "phone" (a book light that she adopted as her cell phone) to her Grammie. It's interesting, because she seems to be talking to Grammie a lot since my mom passed in September. It makes me happy and sad all at the same time, but I like to think that she is really talking to her.

I told Natalie to tell Grammie that I say hi and I miss her next time she talks to her. Hope my mom got the message one way or the other.

Another cute quote

While driving to daycare the other day, Natalie exclaimed "bus!!" (she has an obsession with spotting school buses). I saw in my rear view that a bus had passed us, and replied "good eye, Natalie- daddy didn't see it!" She immediately said "me either". I got a good laugh out of that one.

Silliness leads to sleepiness!

Just a quick quote

Nickie told me that on their way home from daycare, the sun was in Natalie's eyes. Natalie said (to the sun) "leave Natalie alone!!"

Overdue Videos

Just Cute Pictures

Hakuna Matata!

Natalie had seen her first movie (Winnie the Pooh) with Nickie a while ago and I admit, I was jealous that I didn't get to experience it. So, we decided to go see Lion King together today- Natalie was very excited about this, as was I! Not only was I going to get to enjoy the theater experience with Natalie, but I was also going to see one of my favorite Disney films.

Natalie loved getting popcorn and seeing the movie on the big screen. She was well behaved and quiet throughout the film (with a few exceptions), but her curiosity got the best if her and she kept looking back at the projector, cutely telling me that "that's where the movie cones from!"

We had a great time, and now I've got "Hakuna Matata" stuck in my head!!

Random Photos and Random Update

Some random photos for you and a random update!

Natalie continues to impress us with her knowledge, growth, and personality. She is such a beautiful girl inside and out!

It is so amazing to be able to have such lengthy and humorous conversations with her. Her vocabulary grows constantly. However, sometimes, she just isn't ready for a word. For example, I told her that we couldn't run around the car because it was dangerous. She looked at me like I was crazy and said, "Mommy, I don't have a dress!" (That is all that she heard..dang...dress? For the life of me I could not get her to hear the actual word properly. It was really funny.

However, she did use the word "instead" correctly, and I found that pretty impressive!

Potty training is completely through at home and she is 100% successful at home and on the weekends. However, for some reason, she can still not have success with number 2's at day care. So she still needs pull-ups there...but I really don't understand why she can be perfect here with it, but not there....Maybe she is just a very private girl.

Day care continues to have its ups and downs. If it is a day that I have to take her in early (which means that she doesn't start in her actual classroom with her actual teachers) then she has a complete melt down with screaming, crying, and grabbing for me with every limb, every finger, every toe. It is a terrible way to start my morning. Frankly, I probably spend a longer time crying about it afterwards than she does. Now, if Daddy takes her in later and she goes directly to her classroom with her teachers, she is fine! I am quite jealous of the difference! Thankfully, I know that overall, she loves her time with her friends. (Side bar: Have we ever mentioned that Natalie speaks with a southern accent many times? Friends comes out "frieeeeeends" (think of a very very Southern, Southern Belle) And the word help is "hayelp"...can't is "cayn't" We have no idea where or how this started, but it is pretty funny!)

For quite some time, Natalie was obsessed with Cosby show. I will upload the videos of her dancing to the openings after this post. She loved watching full episodes and even carried around the dvd book with her everywhere. (See, her mommy already loved Cosby and had two seasons on dvd, so it was a great obsession for her to have) We are even considering a Cosby-themed third birthday party. With that said, I think we have had about two weeks where she hasn't been watching him as much, so that may need to change. Her current favorites are a show called Big, Big Friend (I have no idea what channel actually shows it, we only have it on netflix) and Elmo. Clearly, we will have to wait a bit more before deciding on any birthday theme for her.

Another random update (very overdue)- Natalie has to play with my elbows as she falls asleep. If you remember from previous posts, she used to need to "tuck" her arm up my sleeve. With warmer weather during spring and summer, this was not always possible. So she came up with grabbing and playing with my elbow as she falls asleep. It is such an important step to her falling asleep that she will begin to play with my elbow as she is doing something else if she is beginning to get tired/sleepy. When she grabs for the elbow, you know she needs to fall asleep!

Her new favorite food is bagels with cream cheese. Funny story: before her discovery of cream cheese, I used to melt cheese on a bagel for a sandwich for her. So the other night, I still did this. Well, Natalie made it very clear that she thought I was giving her a bagel with cream cheese. She flipped out and said NO NO NO NO, I want white cheese! I want white cheese! So now when she asks for a bagel, she specifies that she wants a bagel with WHITE cheese. I will never make that mistake again! :)

Today we are taking Natalie to her second trip to a theater today to go see Lion King that has been rereleased. We decided to not take her to the 3D version because we aren't sure she would keep the glasses on and do not want to spend $10 for her to see a blurry mess. She is very excited about going and even woke us up early today saying that she was going to see a movie on biiiiiiiiig screeeeeeen!

Those are all of the random updates that I can think of for right now!