Natalie's Birthday Party Invitation Video

Santa Growth Chart

We have lucked out the last three years by having the same Santa in each of Natalie's Christmas photos, which is good for consistency, as he is really only there as a prop to assist in measuring Natalie's annual growth. (Please don't put coal in my stocking, Santa). My, my- look how our girl has grown over the last three years!!

Holiday Crafts

Today Natalie and I did two little holiday crafts. We made our annual paper chain countdown (much smaller this year due to my tardiness) and a Santa craft with cotton balls. The Santa is very Picasso-like and did not hold her attention for long. The paper chain was more of a hit because she loved shaking it.

No!!

Natalie's new favorite word is "no". Whether it's contextually correct or not, everything lately is "no!". A moment ago she just nailed her head against the coffee table. I asked if it hurt, and of course, she said no. We could ask her if her name is Natalie, and she'd probably say no.







Otherwise, it's just amazing to watch Natalie grow. She is tall- Nickie was the same height at her age, so it's likely that Natalie will be 6' tall or more! I can't even imagine. Hopefully by that time, she will at least have hair that comes past her ears.

Natalie is going to have an exciting few weeks coming up, with Santa Claus visiting her on Christmas, then her birthday party two weeks later! We're planning a Cosby themed birthday party this year, as Natalie still loves her Cosby! We're hoping to see a lot of Cosby-esque sweaters being worn, as that is the requested attire!

Donuts and Santa Claus in the same day!?

Last week, Nickie and I took Natalie to the Festival of Trees at the state fairgrounds, which is an annual event with loads of Christmas trees, gingerbread houses and activities to see and participate in. We started our morning by going to Mel-O-Cream on S. Sixth street. A first for me, as well as Natalie. The photos speak for themselves, but we had a fun time getting Natalie hopped up on sugar before going to the Festival. It's a very rare thing for her to eat sweets, so when she does get the chance, she takes full advantage of it (as do mommy and daddy, of course)!

We then admired the plethora of Christmas trees, gingerbread houses, and displays at the Festival of Trees. There was a train that Natalie got to ride on, and Santa Claus was even there! Natalie even got to make a jingle bell bracelet with Mommy, and a snowflake necklace with Daddy. Christmas is already so much fun with Natalie this year. I can't imagine what Christmas morning will be like!

Quotables

The other day, when Nickie got Natalie out of the car at home, Natalie exclaimed "Mommy, look- the moon!" Nickie said"You're right, that's the moon!" Natalie looked at the crescent moon and said "Who broke it?!"

Just a moment ago, Natalie was scratching her head- Nickie asked what she was doing. Natalie said "I think I'm thinking!"

Natalie Ran Off and Joined the Circus!

Well, not quite. We did get to go to our first circus, however! As it turned out, we only had to pay for one of the three tickets, too! Thanks to the generosity of the Clairs and the Wentz's, who each donated a ticket to us, we got quite the bargain! We went to see the Ansar-Shrine circus here in Springfield. It was quite a spectacle, and Natalie loved it! We were a bit nervous, however, when Natalie seemed somewhat terrified of the clowns camped outside of the convention center. She quickly got over her coulrophobia, and enjoyed the rest of the experience.

We saw elephants, trapeze artists, unicyclists, high wire acts, monkeys, and magicians, among others. It was quite a long affair, with a drawn-out intermission (easier to hawk your wares to a captive audience, presumably), but Natalie did great, even during the down-time. When asked what her favorite part was afterwards, she diplomatically stated "the circus!". My favorite part was the elephants, and Nickie said the same, which is no surprise. Overall, it was as terrific family experience!