Oh, Christmas Tree

Why do people put Christmas trees up in their homes? It takes hours of moving the heavy tree up from the basement, assembling it, and "fluffing" up the branches. You get all scratched up. Etc., etc.

Well, now I know why:Natalie saw the tree almost immediately when she came home from daycare. "Christmas tree - inside!", she said. And then she went around and touched each of the bulbs very carefully and gently (they are the "cold", low-energy ones).

The picture is a bit out of focus because I turned the flash off to better capture the warmth of the moment. It was soo worth it!

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Christmas Parade

Yesterday, we went to a Christmas Parade! I think Natalie really liked it, even though she reacted much different than the last time we went to a parade. She spent most of the time like this:

She was very focussed on all the things happening in front of her. When there would be a little break in the parade, I would ask her if she wanted to see more, and she would say "yeah" and look down the road and say "more coming". And there sure was a lot to look at. Just look at the flames on this picture:

Silly duck?

The other night, Natalie was being goofy at the dinner table. Here's her conversation with Karsten:

Karsten: Are you being a silly goose?
Natalie: No!
Karsten: Are you being a silly duck?
Natalie: Yeah - quack, quack, quack, quack, quack!

A few days later, Natalie was playing around in the living room...

Karsten: Are you being a silly duck?
Natalie: (Pointing to me) Mommy silly duck too!

Hmm, I think that's a compliment...

At the dentist

Last week, we took Natalie to the dentist! She did soo well! She even let the dentist look at her teeth a little while she was sitting with Karsten:

Yes, that's a cup of crackers in her hand. I know you're not supposed to eat while at the dentist, but I think it's okay to bend the rules a little when you are less than two years old...

Natalie got a new toothbrush - with Elmo on it!

Then, she got to dig in the treasure chest for a prize:

She chose two little monsters (they were friends, so they had to go together...) By the way, in case you were wondering: The dentist said that everything was fine with her teeth.

Mac and Cheese

The other morning, I was changing Natalie, and she wanted her cup with milk. So Karsten brought it in to the changing table for her. Then, they had the following conversation:

Natalie: Thank you!
Karsten: You're welcome!
Natalie: Thank you!
Karsten: You're welcome!
Natalie: Thank you!
Karsten: You're welcome!

Repeat about 10 more times, until Karsten decided to throw her a curveball:

Natalie: Thank you!
Karsten: Banana split!
Natalie (long, puzzled look, then): Mac-cheese!

Morning exercise

On Sunday morning, Natalie wanted to go back in her crib after breakfast: It turned out she just wanted to get her morning exercise in...:

Happy Halloween

Friday was Halloween! We had such a great time trick-or-treating! Here's Natalie in her bumble-bee outfit:

Yep, that's a sucker in her hand. She was eating suckers the whole time. I know, lots of sugar, but oh, well, she's a kid, and it's only Halloween once a year...

Most of the time she was in her wagon with Karsten or myself pulling her. Here are some short videos from that:

And here's the picture that just says it all:

Happy Halloween!!!

Santa who?

The other day, Natalie and I were looking at some Christmas giftwrap. Here's our conversation:

Me (pointing to a penguin): Do you know what that is?
Natalie: Pen-gin!
Me (pointing to a snowman): And what is that?
Natalie: Now-man!
Me (pointing to a drawing of Santa): Do you know who this is?
Natalie: Red Clown!

Hmm, I guess she might be onto something there...

Apple picking - apple pie

On the weekend before Halloween, we went applepicking at a local apple orchard. It was great! Natalie really got into it. There were plenty of apples low enough to the ground that she could reach them. She loved running around finding the best apples, then picking them and putting them in her little basket:


At the apple orchard, they also had a walking trail where you could see different animals like llamas, alpacas, sheep, goats, pigs, deer, and ducks. We bought some food for the animals, and Natalie loved "feeding" them. She didn't want to get too close, so she would take the food and give it to Karsten, so he could feed them! Pretty smart if you ask me...

After we got home, Natalie helped make apple pie from the apples. She made the dough, helped squeeze it in the pie-form, and she sat on the table next to me while I was cutting up the apples and taste-tested them - each one of them, several times! We had so much fun that day.

The two pictures in this post are "book-ending" a really great day - so great that we kinda forgot to take pictures in between!