Remember to brush your teeth - or else...

A week or two ago, I was traveling for a few days on business. Karsten did a great job taking care of Natalie while I was gone. He must have been struggling a little with getting her teeth brushed, though, so he told her that if she didn't brush her teeth they might fall out... Well, she makes deductions of her own, so here's what Natalie told me when I brushed her teeth the first night after I came home:

Natalie: We have to brush our teeth. Otherwise they will fall out.
Me: Uh-huh...
Natalie: Then they will fall on the floor and get all dirty.
Me: Uhm, okay...
Natalie: And then we would have to put them in the dishwasher!

At the apple orchard

A couple of weekends ago, we went back to one of our favorite places - the apple orchard. They were having an "Apple-Palooza", so there were extra many fun things to do.

The wooden train is always a hit

And they had facepainting! Natalie did such a great job sitting very still...

Natalie chose a rainbow - very pretty!

There were these fun photo-setups. "Look, I'm a witch!"

Natalie's friend Aubriella met us there. Look how big these girls are getting!

The ring-pop

One of Natalie's friends from daycare brought in treat bags for his birthday. One of the things in there was another first for Natalie: A ringpop!

Yummi!

Dressing up

While Grandma was here, the weather was nice enough for a short summer dress for Natalie. That didn't stop her from dressing up in winter clothes, though: Ta-da!

"What are you looking at?"

Treasure Hunt

One of the days while Grandma was here, we did a treasure hunt with Natalie. While she was napping, I took pictures of various places in our backyard, and I packed up little trinkets (stickers, small toys, a few pieces of candy, etc.) with the pictures. The pictures were "clues" to where she would find the next treasure and the next clue.

I wasn't sure if Natalie would understand the game, but she got it right away, and she was sooo into it:

Looking for the next clue!

Animals

While Grandma was here, we went on many short little trips. Just short little half-day things to do.

One one of those outings, we went to the local amusement park. We met one of Natalie's friends and her parents there. The friend really wanted to ride the horsies. I wasn't sure Natalie would go for that, she's usually a little uncertain about getting too close to any kind of animal. But I guess peer pressure works at an early age, and Natalie actually got to ride a horse:

Look, Mommy!

Afterwards, she was soooo proud! I'm so glad she did it.

Later in the week, we went to the local apple orchard. They have a little walking trail that takes the kids past a lot of different animals. And Natalie got to touch a sheep:

Bah, Bah, white sheet!

Again, she was soo proud! Maybe she's starting to be a little less reserved when it comes to animals...

The Boo-boo sticker

Natalie has a new habit - jumping in the couch. Yes, I know, some parents may frown on that. But really, what's the harm? A little wear on the couch is well worth the fun she's having, and on top of that it's great exercise for her...

Anyway, all fun carries some risk, I guess, and the other night she bit her tongue while jumping. Well, of course, she needed a boo-boo sticker (which is what band-aids are called in our house). So she got one, and we were wondering where she was going to put it:

The boo-boo sticker went on the mouth, of course. That's where the boo-boo was!

Of course, that didn't stop her from continuing to jump, so here's a picture that shows her in her "natural environment"...

Jump, jump, jump!

Grandma!

Sorry I've been a little absent from blog-land. We've been kinda busy. For instance, Natalie's Grandma came to visit for a couple of weeks. We had such a great time:

Just hanging out...

Having an improvised party...

And of course, lot's of hugs!


We did lots of fun things together. Stay tuned for more pictures...