School's Out!

Here is Natalie on her first day of preschool back in September. This afternoon we went to the end of the year party for her class. The school year just flew by! She is already looking forward to starting again in the fall -- a new classroom, new teachers, and new friends. I'm so thankful that we found such a great school for her, and only 3 minutes from home. She has changed and grown so much over the past 9 months...we are so proud of her!

By the way, our non-growing child still wears those same shoes, with plenty of room left. I guess that's a better problem than having her outgrow shoes every 3 months like most kids do!

Summer's Here!

Well, almost. But it was a nice, warm day today, perfect for playing outside. After Brad mowed the lawn, we spent almost 4 hours in the backyard blowing bubbles, kicking the soccer ball around, and playing in the kiddie pool. I was worried that Natalie would think she was too old for it this year, but she had a BLAST and spent probably 2.5 hours in it! Check back here for pool pictures from last summer. She has really turned from a baby to a big girl!

Opa!

We went to a Greek Festival at a Greek Orthodox church near our house this evening. As we arrived and Natalie saw the dome on the top of the building, she loudly exclaimed, "Mommy, that's what your tummy looks like!"

Thanks, sweetheart.

Yeehaw!

Last week, we went to a birthday party for one of Natalie's friends. The party had a cowboy theme -- the birthday boy's mom went all-out with cowboy games, a cactus piñata, and western gear for all the kids to wear (and take home!). Natalie loved it, and still wears her hat around the house every day. Truly a Texas girl at heart!

I Love My Mommy Because...

I love hearing what kids say when you ask them a totally open-ended question. Surprisingly, in this class of ten 2-3 year olds, no one gave a totally ridiculous answer!

By the way, Dr. Natalie almost always deems me unhealthy after checking me out. Uh oh.

Trenton Thunder

We went to our very first Trenton Thunder (AA minor league baseball team affiliated with the NY Yankees) game yesterday afternoon! My good friend's husband buys into a suite with some of his coworkers...it really makes it easy to take kids who don't have a very long attention span! There was a room with tables and chairs, couches, and lots of open space for the kids to play, plus you could walk out to a private balcony to watch the game. We had absolutely perfect weather, which made for a great afternoon with friends!

Sean was a great tour guide -- he took Natalie by the hand and showed her the ropes at Waterfront Park.

The Thunder's mascot, Boomer, came to visit our suite. Unfortunately, I couldn't convince Natalie to get in the picture with me, so I ended up just looking like some weirdo adult who loves mascots. Haha! Natalie did eventually warm up enough to give Boomer a high five.

Thanks, Mike and Kelly! We can't wait to go back again sometime!

Fixer Upper, Round 2

About this time last year, I painted a beat up old desk that I found on the side of the road for Natalie's bedroom. This year, I had a new project -- a dresser for Julia's bedroom that I bought off of craigslist for $10. All it took was some sanding, a couple coats of primer, and a coat of paint in a much more pleasant shade of green.

Before -- love the super high-gloss green!:

After -- ready to be filled with clothes and blankets for a new baby girl!: