Field trip to the botanical garden

Natalie's class went on a field trip to the botanical garden - and I got to tag along as a chaperone! We had such a great time. The weather was a little on the cold side, but with no rain. The teacher from the garden was very good at showing us all kinds of things about plants and seeds. It was very enjoyable and educational, even for the grown-ups.


Natalie's teacher took pictures and made a really cool video out of the pictures:

Happy Halloween

For Halloween, Natalie requested a "special" breakfast. Here's how she started her day:

Poptarts decorated with a jack-o-lantern, a spider, and a bat (with edible markers), and a jack-o-lantern apple (so we could pretend it was almost healthy...)

Here's her reaction:

I think it was a hit.

This year, we went trick-or-treating with Natalie's good friend Izzy:

Natalie was a monster, and Izzy was "Intelligent Girl"

The girls had a blast. I don't think they were more than a foot apart for most of the time:

Going trick-or-treating

Fortunately, they both had their priorities in order - when they came across an old birds nest on someone's lawn, they just had to stop and investigate:

Such explorers.

This year, the weather on Halloween was very windy and very, very cold. Because of that, we were only out for about 45 minutes. Afterwards, the girls watched Halloween episodes of their favorite shows on tv while they dug into the loot. I'm pretty sure they enjoyed that part a lot, too. 

This was a great Halloween! We had so much fun, and we enjoyed the company of good friends. Couldn't ask for anything more!

Portrait time

Natalie needed a picture for a school project. I think this one turned out really well:

Beautiful dancer

Natalie and I went shopping, and one of the items we found at the second hand store was a leotard. She's been wishing for one of those for a while for her dress-up bin, so she had to try it out right away when we got home:

The twirl.

The ballerina.

Gotta love that smile.

Time to buy new socks...

What's the missing piece in this picture?

Hint: Look at the socks. Like father, like daughter...

"Oh, No, Our socks are missing a toe!"

All about me poster

One of Natalie's first pieces of homework this school year was an "All about me" poster. She had to decorate a sheet of paper with pictures, stickers, and whatever else she wanted to describe herself. Here's the result:

 

A little bit of interpretation:

Natalie loves soccer, swimming, and the monkey bars. Her favorite foods are icecream, cupcakes, mac and cheese, and risengroed (a danish dish). She is American, hence the US flag, but her parents are from Denmark, hence the two Danish flags. Her family consists of Dad, Mom, and herself. Her favorite animal is a dolphin. And she likes peace signs and glittery things.  

First day of second grade

Last Tuesday was Natalie's first day of school. She's now in second grade. Of course, we had to do the obligatory first day of school pictures:

Posing for the camera.

Getting ready to learn.

Of course, we also waited outside of daycare so we could wave as she went on the school bus.

And staying true to tradition, Natalie got a special cookie when she came home.