New toys

Natalie got two new toys this weekend. The first one was a swing:

Yay, this is fun!

More!

I wonder how this works...

Natalie also got her own "4-wheeler":

Look at her go!

It was a little difficult to remember to keep pushing the button on a continous basis, so...

... it might be easier to push the 4-wheeler instead!

That was so much fun, but it must also have been pretty exhausting. It turned out that - after a long night of partying with her friends - the swing was a perfect place for a little nap!

Zzzzz...

The Memorial Day Parade

Isn't it amazing how things look different when you see them thru a child's eyes?

Natalie and I went to the Memorial Day Parade in De Pere. I never would have thought it would be that much fun! See, when you sit close to the ground and look up at the parade, it looks so much different than when you just stand there or see it on TV:

The cars aren't just cars - they are BIG cars with lots of colors. And music. And one of them even had a trailer with people and flowers and BUBBLES!.

The firetrucks aren't just firetrucks - they are BIG and red and shiny and LOUD (and sometimes a little scary, so it's good to have Mommie near by).

There were clowns. And a bicycle with probably at least 20 people on it! And a REAL horse. And lots of dogs, soft cuddly dogs.

The candy was fun to pick up and put in Natalie's pockets, but the best thing was the flags she got. She held on to them for a looong time. And seing her wave her little flag while the veterans were walking by was just picture perfect:
Don't worry, she's having a good time, even though she's looking so focused. She's always very serious about fun - no time to smile for the camera, there's too much stuff to look at!

The tractor!

Natalie's vocabulary is expanding fast. It seems like she learns at least one new word every day. Last week, I was "cooking dinner" (microwaving leftovers) while Karsten and Natalie were going for a little walk outside. When they came in, they had the following conversation:

Karsten: Natalie, what did we see in the garage?
Natalie: Caahh!
Karsten: That's right! And what was next to the car in the garage?
Natalie: Gakdor!
Karsten: That's right, that was the tractor!

I couldn't tell which one of them were more proud...

The sandbox

Natalie got a new toy (or toys?) today - a sandbox, complete with bucket, shovel, and sieve. She had so much fun playing filling her little bucket up with sand. Then she tried to fill the sieve - which took a while for obvious reasons...

Here's a picture of her playing in the sand. And here's a little video. Oh, and did I mention that she's in a phase where "no" sometimes means "yes" - except of course when it means no...

Spring cleaning

Natalie likes to help with the cleaning around the house (which is why the house is spotless in some very small areas and not-so-spotless in most of the rest of the house...)

Here she is, dusting to her hearts content:

See how fast she's moving! And of course, one Swiffer wouldn't be enough, she needs one for each hand.

She also likes to vacuum:

But the best is if she can get a piece of paper towel - that's entertainment for a long time:

The daughter of a do-it-yourselfer

Karsten likes to do-it-yourself. Here are some ways you can tell that Natalie is the daughther of a home-improvement-guy:

1. The first store Natalie was in - ever - was Menards.
2. When Natalie is looking for Karsten, she looks behind the fridge (Karsten just replaced a part on it that had worn out).
3. Karsten and Natalie have to take turns using the hammer.
4. Natalie has one of these (okay, I admit it, I bought it for her):

Natalie's first haircut

On Saturday, we took Natalie to get a haircut. We went to a real kid's place called Snips and Giggles. The hairdresser was really good, even though Natalie wasn't quite happy with the whole situation. It seemed like three or four snips and we were done, but what a difference it made - she looks so cute and sassy!

We got a certificate for her first haircut, complete with picture and a piece of the hair. I think the picture is great - it shows exactly what Natalie thought about the whole experience:

Did you miss me?

Last night, Natalie and I came home a bit late. Karsten was already home.

Natalie ran straight for the refrigerator, tried to open it, then ran to Karsten. He picked her up. Here's their conversation:

Karsten: Are you hungry?
Natalie: Shaking her head yes very energetically.
Karsten: Or did you miss me?
Natalie: Shaking her head NO just as energetically...

Karsten: That's a blog entry!