Holiday party at Daycare

As usual, daycare had a party around Christmas time:

Natalie made a pretty Christmas card

And played pin the star on the Christmas tree.

But as usual, one of the best parts was decorating the cookies...

And tasting them!

Natalie even made an extra one for Daddy.

Holiday concert at school

This year's Holiday concert at school was a hit. Here are a few pictures:

I am always impressed at how organized everything seems to be at Natalie's school. There is always an atmosphere of respect and positive re-enforcement. Here come the first graders, walking so nicely in their line:

Can you spot Natalie? (click on the picture to enlarge)

All of the first graders on stage.

A little closer...

And here's a happy girl amongst friends.

The program was cute and fun, and the singing and dancing left everyone filled with Christmas Joy.

Holiday baking

One of Natalie's gifts from her birthday was a very cool apron. Of course, we had to test it out:

One of the best parts of baking is getting to lick the utensils.

And since it was December, we improvised and made these:

Santa cupcakes!

Natalie's birthday party

This year, Natalie choose to have her birthday party at the bowling alley. We all had a great time.

The birthday girl.

Getting ready to bowl.

Go, Natalie, go!

That's my big girl.

The birthday cake - Teen Beach Movie is one of Natalie's favorite movies (and mine, too...)

Seven of Natalie's best friends were at her party. I'm not posting pictures with Natalie's guests, since I haven't had a chance to get approval to do so from the parents. 

I must say, Natalie chooses her friends well. Everyone were very well behaved, and it was very enjoyable to see her interact with her peers. They are all good kids.

Happy Birthday, Natalie!

Natalie turned Seven in December! She's getting to be such a big girl. Here are some pictures from the special day:

Decorated breakfast table.

Natalie admiring her "healthy" breakfast muffin.

That's a big birthday smile.

Of course, there was a birthday card - and Natalie can read it all by herself now!

That's seven pink candles.

Somebody was pretty happy that day.

Make a wish...

A birthday present - a special winter hat.

Natalie got to choose her birthday dinner. She choose lasagna, peas, corn, and fresh baked (take-and-bake) bread.

After dinner, there was another "little" present.

A new chair for Natalie's room. Just what she was wishing for.

And, since you can never have too much cake on your birthday, she had a special birthday cake after dinner - a cheesecake. 

All in all, I think it was a pretty great birthday. 

Happy Birthday to one cool girl!

Pretty Christmas lights

There is one house in the area that always goes all out with their outdoors Christmas decorations. And I mean ALL OUT.

Natalie and I went there one night to take a look, and we took turns taking pictures with my phone. I tried getting the some general area shots to show how much there really was to see:

Front entrance

"Back" yard.

Front lawn.

 Natalie, on the other hand, did an awesome job at capturing some more focussed, detailed pictures:

The Christmas Merry-Go-Round.

Mr. and Mrs. Snowman in their hot air balloon.

Everybody needs a Christmas Monkey.

And my personal favorite - partly because I think the picture really captures the Christmas Spirit, and partly because it reminds me of one of my favorite Christmas songs:

The Little Drummer Boy

As usual, I like Natalie's pictures so much better than my own. They really capture the ambiance of the place. I think I can learn a valuable life-lesson from her: Focus on one thing at a time, and you will enjoy everything so much more. Sometimes, less is really more!

The Duffel Bag

Natalie had a sleepover at a friends house (and we had a date-night - Yay!!!). Now, Natalie packs like a real girl - meaning that for a one night sleepover we had to make sure we dug out one of our bigger duffel bags... I wonder where she gets that from...

Anyway, the bag was pretty big, so we were joking that it was big enough that she could fit inside it. Of course, that had to be tested:

Yep, she fits!

And she's much prettier than all the stuff that was supposed to go in there!