What does the ... say?

Natalie and I were finishing our dinner tonight when we started talking about what all the animals say:

Natalie had more to say:

I should probably mention that in our house, the giraffe says "Neigh, neigh" (just like a horse) and the elephant says "Doodle-loodle-loo". And it's not just animals that make sounds:

The big spoon

Last night, Natalie helped set the table. She also put a few extra pieces of silverware on the table, just in case... One of the extra pieces was our biggest serving spoon. And Natalie thought it would be great to eat peas with that one:

"Hmm, I wonder how many peas I can fit on this spoon?"

"Uh-oh, where did they go?"

"Succes! See, it's a perfect fit!"

Mommy-pockets

I think someone should invent a new line of clothing, just for moms. It should be machine washable, and it should have "mommy-pockets". Let me explain...

Whenever Natalie and I go somewhere, it seems that I always end up carrying the following items in my pockets:

• Extra crackers for an unexpected snack break
• A small toy for waiting in line, etc.
• A washcloth or burpcloth to wipe her hands and mouth (if needed, this item can hang from the pocket, thus saving valuable space)
• A small cup for crackers
• A more or less empty sippy-cup
• The keys to the car (these can double as the small toy if pocket space is limited)
• My cell phone (couldn't live without it)
• Various items that Natalie really wants to play with but shouldn't, which imparts the need to "magically" make them go away

Now, the thing is, I've actually had all of these items in my pockets at the same time... This is what has come to be known as "Mommy-pockets" around our house. When Karsten asks if we need to bring anything, I'll just say "No, I've got Mommy-pockets today", and he knows we're all set.

So, I was wondering when anyone would come out with some great pants for moms (because skirts? Not practical when running after a toddler...) Then I realized they are already on the market - they are called Cargo pants!

An avid reader - part two

I think I've mentioned once or twice that Natalie likes books. Well, yesterday she was getting ready for naptime, and she wasn't too happy that she had to leave her books behind. So we told her she could bring a book with her in the crib. I guess one book wasn't quite enough, because she grabbed as many books as she could carry:


Then, she was all happy and content to go into the crib for naptime. She fell asleep in about 30 seconds with the pile of books still in her hands (and one of them halfway up her nose...).

After about half an hour, she must have wanted to turn over, and the books woke her up. So she just took care of it: She threw all the books over the side of the crib, considered the situation for a little while, then laid right back down and slept for another two hours (hurray for the "nanny-cam", so we could see what was going on without disturbing her).

Beach Party!

Tuesday night, Natalie had a Beach Party / Icecream Social at daycare. She had such a great time!

First, she had some icecream:

Then she found the watertable full of bubble-fluid outside! The kids could dip the bubble wand in it and blow bubbles:
Then, there was a watertable filled with duckies. Yay, duckies!

Another watertable had boats and cups:

But then it was back to the favorite - the bubbles.

Lot's of foamy stuff to play with:

Good thing Daddy brought a towel!
It was a sunny and warm night, so it was perfect for waterplay. Natalie had so much fun. All the way home in the car she kept saying "More bubbles"!

A playdate

Last weekend, Natalie had a playdate with her friend Aubriella. The two girls had so much fun together. Here they are, chasing bubbles on the deck: Later, they got a ride in the wagon:
And at the end of the day, when the shadows were getting really long, they played with the gravel in the driveway:
They were so good at helping each other fill the bucket. Then one of them would dump the gravel out and they would start all over!

Thank you to Aubriella's Mom for sending me these great pictures, and for letting me post them for all of you to enjoy.

Mommy's shoulder

The other day, I finished my grocery shopping at Walmart and went to put the groceries in the car. Only then did I notice that I had been walking all thru Walmart with one of Natalie's blankies on my shoulder - most of the time without Natalie, as she was looking at other stuff with Karsten. And here I thought that all the people smiling at me had just been friendly... But it made me think of just how important a mommy's shoulder is:

A mommy's shoulder is strong enough to sit or even stand on.

A mommy's shoulder is warm when you are cold.

A mommy's shoulder is big enough to shield you from the wind.

A mommy's shoulder is soft enough to cry on.

A mommy's shoulder is the perfect place to rest your head when you are tired.

And I hope that Natalie will always have her Mommy's shoulder there when she needs it.

Story-time, Natalie style...

Natalie quite often has a lot to tell us. Here's a little video of her telling us one of her stories:

(And look, we found the missing shoe!)

The missing shoe

Uh-oh, I seem to be missing a shoe...

Maybe, if I do my super-karate-move, Mommie won't notice that my shoe is missing...

Just hanging out

We spent the 4th of July at some of our friends. At some point, we were all just sitting and chatting around the bonfire. I caught this little clip of Natalie and Karsten - just hanging out together:

A sense of fashion

Natalie is starting to want to choose her own outfits. She's often very creative in her choices. The other day, I had put her in a cute little pink princess outfit when I let her choose which shoes to wear to daycare. Without blinking, she choose her yellow rainboots - and she even put them on all by herself! Not exactly a match, but oh well, she was so proud.

Unfortunately, I didnt' catch a photo of her in that ensemble, but here's one where she's wearing the same boots with an outfit that's at least a bit more color-coordinated:Last weekend, she was playing around when it was getting close to lunch time. She went to the drawer where all the winter gear is stored and pulled out her winter hat. She wore it all thru lunch:

Cherios, matey!

Some cool parents

The other day, Natalie was "organizing" our old computer games: She was pointing to the boxes and telling us what she saw.

According to Natalie, this is "Mama":

And this is "Dada": Hmm, she must have some pretty cool parents in some other universe...