Happy Birthday!

Yesterday, I went to the store to get some treats for Natalie to bring to daycare today for her birthday. I looked at many different cupcakes. There were the Hannah Montana ones - nah, she's too young for that. Then there were the Care Bear ones - cute, but not quite "it". Then, all the way in the back, I found these:

Chocolate cupcakes with pink frosting and Dora the Explorer rings on top! I almost did a little happy-dance right there in the store. I never knew that shopping for cupcakes could be that much fun. And I was smiling all the way thru the checkout.

Because they are just perfect:

Natalie loves chocolate.
Natalie loves pink.
Natalie loves frosting.
And Natalie loves Dora the Explorer.

And in one of her favorite episodes of Dora the Explorer, Dora finds a pirate treasure, complete with gold, and toys, and stickers, and - you guessed it: Chocolate cupcakes with pink frosting! How cool is that.

Happy Birthday, Natalie!

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!