Madeline!

Madeline is coming...we can't wait! She will be our first "real" visitor. Of course, we had family with us when we moved, but Madeline will be the first to visit us after we've been here for a while and actually sort of know what to do in the area. Let the countdown to March 16 begin!

And You Thought Christmas Was Over

With the hustle and bustle of preparing for our trip to Houston, we didn't do our gift exchange with just the 3 of us before we left. We got back home to New Jersey the first week of January and decided to wait a few days so we could have time to gather last minute presents. And then Natalie got sick. And then Brad got sick. And then Brad was studying for finals. And before we knew it, it was nearly a month after Christmas! Luckily, Santa is an understanding guy and waited for us to be totally ready before delivering Natalie's toys. How nice of him to make a special trip to our house all the way from the North Pole! So yesterday was Christmas for us. I have to admit it felt a little funny...the tree was down, Christmas music was long gone, and it just didn't feel Christmas-y. In the future we'll definitely be more deliberate about doing our Christmas a day or two before we head to Houston. Anyway, here are a few pictures.

Natalie's Santa pile. I guess he remembered that her birthday is in less than a month so he didn't bring a ton of stuff. That Santa is SMART!

First glimpse of the goods. "Ooh, tricycle!"

So very proud of her trike.

And lots of new food to go with her kitchen!

Here are a couple of bonus pictures...Natalie with some of her gifts from her grandparents.

Mousie and Pop got her a sand and water table. We can't wait for it to be warm enough to actually play with it outside!

A stroller from Mamaw and Papa. Natalie loves to load up her baby in the stroller, grab her purse and head for the door, pretending to go to the store.

Bird Watching

We had lots of birds scurrying around the backyard this morning. I think since it rained yesterday they were finding lots of critters to snack on. It's too bad the pictures are blurry...they were taken without a flash and through a window, not to mention the birds were pretty far away. If anyone wants to upgrade my lens for me, the one I want is only $750! :)

A Year of Pies -- Month 8

Do you ever just have a really good feeling when you're making something? Like you know it's going to be great? That's what happened to me this morning as I was making Brad's sweet treat of the month, blackberry pie. It looked great, smelled great, and was super easy to boot. We both had some for breakfast. I predict it won't last long!

Natalie's Haircut

This morning I took Natalie to Snip-Its, a salon especially for kids where the colorful decor could send any parent into sensory overload and they show movies to distract kiddos from the torture that is a minor trim. As I expected, Natalie was initially uncertain about a stranger being so close to her. But then the stranger blew bubbles and talked about Elmo and she was sold. Natalie plopped willingly into the chair, proudly wore the cape and adored every single minute of getting a haircut. At the end when the lady took the cape off, Natalie very nicely asked for "more please." Apparently she discovered that it actually feels pretty darn good to have your hair played with! The picture above is after we got home. Not a drastic difference, but the ends are evened up and I think the curls at the end stand out even more now!

As we were leaving the house, I tossed the small point-and-shoot camera in my bag so I could snap a shot of her getting her trim. When I pulled it out to take a picture, I realized that the battery was dead (of course), and I had accidentally left my cell phone in the car (of course again), so I couldn't take a picture. Oh well. However, what I can do is show you a picture of her last haircut, which was just over a year ago. That one didn't go over as well...

Natalie's 2009 Year In Review

January: Natalie started going to "school" one day a week at church.

February: Natalie turned one!

March: I took Natalie's pictures in the bluebonnets for the first time. May be a while before that happens again!

April: Easter!

May: Having fun at the Houston Zoo.

June: Fun at the Houston Children's Museum (and also her first "car date" with Luca!).

July: Hanging out at the Bellaire 4th of July parade.

August: One last trip to Galveston before the big move.

September: We moved to New Jersey! A trip to a nearby orchard was one of our first outings.

October: Natalie and I got involved in a playgroup and met some great friends that we now see at least once a week.

November: Natalie learned what a real fall is all about.

December: Natalie's first snow play!

More Houston Fun

Happy New Year! We are back home in New Jersey...exhausted from a day of travel yesterday and trying to get back into a regular routine. I thought I'd do a quick post with a few more pictures from Houston.

We went to Jillian's first Upward Basketball game the day after we arrived in Houston. She made a basket in her first game! Hooray!

Brad couldn't hold Pop's steel guitar for more than about 3 seconds before Natalie ran over to "help" him play.

Barrett and Jennifer came into town on New Year's Eve for a belated Christmas celebration. Sunglasses still glued to her face!


Natalie showing Barrett her piano skills.

Hardly a minute went by at Mousie and Pop's house that Natalie didn't tug on someone's feet and ask to "FLY!" And notice Natalie's first French braid, courtesy of Mousie!


My little shutterbug.

Getting ready to get on the plane to go back to New Jersey. Every seasoned traveler has an Elmo backpack, right?