Thursday, February 25, 2010

Naptime... For Mommy and Daddy!

Natalie loves to play that she's the teacher. A couple of weeks ago, she decided that the teacher was going to put "her friends" (Karsten and myself) down for a nap. We got the whole naptime routine, complete with borrowed, stuffed animals, getting tucked in under the blankies, and goodnight hugs and kisses.

Then she closed the door to the bedroom and played on her own for a while.

At first Karsten and I looked at each other, not really sure about this new development. But we figured she hopefully couldn't get in too much trouble in our house, and that she would come and get us if she needed help. And she did, once, for Karsten to get the artwork mat out. Then he was told to go back to bed...

About twenty minutes later it was time for Natalie to get into her jammies, so we had to interrupt. Here's what she'd been up to:

Natalie's "naptime" artwork.

She got all the artwork supplies out herself, and it is definitely her own composition, complete with re-using some artwork she had done at the christmas party. It is great to see her become so independent and creative all on her own - she really is getting to be such a big girl!

Sunday, February 21, 2010

When life gives you snow...

Make a snowman! Or, if the snow isn't "sticky" enough, just make a pile of snow and call it a snow-puppy...

Happy Winter!

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Happy Valentine's Day!

This morning, we had a Valentine's Day Party. Karsten made these for breakfast:

Pink chocolate chip heart shaped pancakes!

While he was making them, I asked Natalie to help set the table for the party. In no time, the table looked like this:
I think that's about everything you could possibly want for a party!

We had such a great time. The pancakes were good, and so were the snacks that Natalie had picked out for us to have with them. And of course, we all got cards. The card Natalie got from us played the "Hamster Dance", and she thought it was the funniest thing:


We sure had a happy Valentine's Day this morning!


Happy Valentine's Day to you, too!

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Naptime

The other day, Natalie decided it was naptime for daddy:

Night, night!

Saturday, February 6, 2010

A scratch in the sky

Today, while we were having breakfast, Natalie all of a sudden said "There's a scratch in the sky!" Here's what it looked like thru our window:

Being geeks, we of course told her about contrails and airplane exhaust and water content in the air, etc... But I really think her explanation was the most accurate!

Friday, February 5, 2010

A wintery day

A few weekends ago, we went outside to play in the snow. Natalie got a new sled that she enjoyd - a lot...

Getting pulled up the hill - soon to go down the hill again!


Of course, any outside time wouldn't be complete without a snack break...
We recently bought her a new trike. It is a little too big for her yet, but it is much more heavy duty and all-terrain, which fits well with our back yard. We decided to let her try it out, and the flattest spot we had that day was on the pond...

Trying out the new trike - don't worry, the ice was very thick and safe.


Very determined - Natalie has places to go and things to see!

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Smiley

A couple of weeks ago, Natalie and I were coloring (drawing). I drew a smiley face for her, with a circle, two dots for eyes, a dot for a nose, and a smiley mouth. Then I asked if she could draw her own smiley face. Here it is:

Natalie's smiley face.

Yeah, so it may not exactly be smiling, but I'm just so impressed that she drew something that is actually recognizable! Wont be long before she starts drawing unicorns and princesses - or maybe tractors and spaceships...

Monday, February 1, 2010

Because there should always be time to dance...

Natalie was helping me with chores around the house this weekend. Yes, it was a Saturday, and we made it a "Jammie-day" - just because we could :-)

We were listening to some of her favorite music while we were "working", and from time to time we would take a break. Most of the breaks looked something like this:

Yep, Saturday was a pretty good day!