Weekly Natalie - Week 77

Natalie's never been really attached to a certain toy or blanket. She's never had a lovey, and pretty much considers all toys equal (though she does have books that she prefers). But this kid loooooves her fairy wings and fairy skirt. She brings them to me multiple times a day (which means that she wants them taken off multiple times a day. It's hard to climb up on the couch wearing an ankle-length skirt).<3>

Weekly Natalie - Weeks 75 & 76

Holy cow ... I slacked off AGAIN last week. How embarrassing. The goal of the past two weeks was not to spontaneously combust in this miserable heat. So we spent a lot of time playing in the water and playing around the mall before it opens (a genius idea, if I do say so myself - it's air conditioned, practically empty except for a few mall walkers, and she has free reign on all the coin-operated toys [except I'm mean and don't put any money in them])

Scruncher Bear MEGABLOXer

Her sweet smile just turns me into a puddle

Gesundheit!

I guess she didn't get the memo stating that she is her mother's child, and her mother has zero coordination and balance Any bets as to how this will end?

Not. Surprised. At. All. (she wasn't hurt, don't worry)

Ooooh!!

Bullseye!

Never happier than when she's playing with the fountains

Except, you know, when she's completely miserable. Move along, Terrible Twos. You're driving me bananas.

At the Splash Pad in Navarre. This picture makes my heart happy

Playing on the couch is the best. game. ever.

We missed out on a Pirates and Princess playdate today because Nat woke up with a snotty nose (I think it's caused by teething, but I didn't want to run any risks). But just because we didn't get to go doesn't mean that she can't rock some princess accessories at home.

Purple fairy wings make coloring WAY more fun

She loves carrying her Bucket o' Crayons around the house

Trying out the color on her leg before she puts it to paper

Natalie = major goofball

Scruncher Bear Fairy

Yummy Recipes

So Natalie is still in her Picky Toddler phase when it comes to food. But she's surprised me twice in 24 hours with what she'll eat.

It's been hot here. Not like "Oh, wow - it's kinda hot outside. I think I might wear shorts today" or "Oh, wow - it's kinda hot outside. I think I'll turn my AC on for a bit." Oh no. This kind of hot will make you feel like your skin is melting off, like your hair is burning to your scalp, like you'll lose 10 lbs from how much you sweat just by walking to your car. THAT kind of hot. And it's only June. (Have I mentioned that after 22 years of living here, I still haven't gotten used to the hot weather??)

So I'm trying to think of meals that aren't really heavy (or hot) to make the weather a little more tolerable. Enter Ina Garten (aka: The Barefoot Contessa). My mom told me about her gazpacho recipe, but, to be honest, it sounded like a big bowl of salsa (and, while I love salsa, I don't want to eat a bowl of it for dinner).

But I figured with this insane heat, I'd go ahead and try out this mysterious cold soup. And dude, let me tell you, it's fan-flippin-tastic. And - shock of all shocks - my uber picky toddler loved it! I fixed her a tiny bowl last night (and by "tiny", I mean one spoonful - I knew she wouldn't like it!), and she gobbled it up in a nanosecond. So I fixed her a bigger bowl and she gobbled that up too. Score for the Barefoot Contessa!

I'm on Day 2 of having a smoothie for breakfast. This recipe was given to me by a dear friend. I finally got the courage to make it (I've always been wary of smoothies - especially ones that have spinach in them). Verdict: It's delish!! And this morning, my nosy kid saw that I was drinking it. So she toddled up to me, reaching for my glass. I gave her some, and her eyes immediately opened up wide and she started licking her lips like crazy. So I'm all "Sweet, kid. Enjoy your spinach for breakfast! Ha! Point for mom!"

Here's the smoothie recipe (and be sure to blend the heck out of it. I made the mistake of not blending it enough yesterday and it was definitely, um, chewy)

• 1 cup light vanilla soy milk (vanilla soy milk will never see the inside of our house, so I use regular milk and a splash of vanilla extract)
  
• 1 container light banana cream pie yogurt (edited to add: really any flavor of yogurt works. I've used strawberry, blueberry, peach guava nectar [or something along those lines], and they're all tasty)
  
• 1 banana
• 1/2 cup oats
• 1 cup frozen spinach
• dash of agave nectar
• 1/2 cup frozen blueberries
• 1/2 cup frozen mixed berries

I let the frozen berries and spinach spend the night in the fridge so that my blender won't freak out the next morning. (My friend told me that frozen spinach can be really hard on a blender).

Happy eating!

May 2010 - Monthly Recap

Oh, my sweet little pumpkin ... May was an up-and-down month for sure. And the 'down' was probably caused by ... (cue the lights shining down from heaven and the choir of angels) ... your new teeth! That's right! After holding steady at four teeth for over six months, you have at least four more up top. I'm not 100% sure because you won't let me examine your mouth. For someone so willingly to lift up her shirt to display her pudgy belly for all the world to see, you sure are private about your mouth. So now, instead of having the mouth of a 7-month-old, you have the mouth of, um, a 10-month-old. Slow and steady wins the race, right?

You took your first ride on an airplane this month. And you did surprisingly well! I was convinced that you would be a royal terror during each flight, but thankfully your royal terror-ness was blissfully limited to small chunks of the long legs of the flight. Being on a plane for 4+ hours is tough on an adult, so it only makes sense that a toddler would lose his/her noodle too. You are an excellent sleeper when you're in a crib or in a Pack-n-Play. But sleeping on my shoulder? Yeah, it's not your strong point. And airplanes aren't equipped with a crib or a PNP, so all that was left was my shoulder. And you had no problem displaying your distaste with your sleeping option. You fought sleep like crazy. And you fighting sleep sounds very similar to a screeching pig. I got some glares from the other passengers, but thankfully, most people gave me a reassuring look that said "Oh goodness, I've been where you've been."

We spent a week with Aunt Lisa, Uncle Rich, and Cousin Taylor in California. You hadn't seen them since Christmas. And when you're your age, 6 months is a LIFEtime. So they were really excited to see how much you've grown and what kind of cool tricks you can do. One of your favorite parts of the trip was Aunt Lisa's Bucket o' Sugar. She keeps a bucket filled with Apple Jacks and Blueberry Muffin Shredded Wheat right at toddler level. So once you figured out where it was, you carried it around the house pretty much 24/7. I try to keep you on a pretty healthy diet, so while seeing you shove handfuls of Apple Jacks into your mouth made me shudder a bit, I just kept telling myself that we were on vacation, and that it wasn't a huge deal. Because now that we're home? Yeah, it's back to plain Cheerios. And you don't know how to say "But Mooooooommmm! Aunt LISA lets me eat Apple Jacks!", so a big fat HA on you, kid.

You love pointing out body parts. And asking you where certain parts are is the only way I've gotten you to be still for a few nanoseconds while I change your diaper. You're good at showing me where your knee is. And foot, toes, arm, head, eye, mouth, and belly button. Your track record isn't the best when it comes to your ear, cheek, hair, and nose. Those body parts are all interchangeable in your eyes.

You also love playing with your animal puzzles. You've gotten really good at them. And you've gotten so good that you like to pretend that you don't know where the pieces go. For instance, you'll have a pig in your hand. You put the pig where it should go on the puzzle, look at us for applause (Team Smith is all about some clapping), then you smile to yourself and put the pig where the horse should go. Then you giggle. A lot. You find yourself pretty hilarious. Daddy and I do, too.

We taught you some more animal faces this month. You don't do them very consistently ... but when you do, LORDY is it cute! For a hippo, you open your mouth really wide. For a frog, you stick your tongue in and out of your mouth really quickly. For a horse, you blubber your lips together (it sounds more like the Jetson's car than an actual horse, but it's still pretty funny). For a sheep, you laugh ("ha ha" sounds fairly similiar to "baa baa"). Aunt Amanda taught you to flap your arms like a chicken, but your flapping arms look like you're frantically hailing a cab. I'm amazed at how quickly you pick things up. You're the most adorable little sponge I've ever met.

I took you downtown a few times this month to play in the fountains at Plaza de Luna. And you love them. No, that just doesn't seem strong enough. You LOVE them. You, my bath-hating daughter. You, my please-don't-ever-pour-water-on-my-head-because-it's-a-fate-worse-than-death daughter. You, you walking conundrum, love the fountains. You love getting hit in the face with the water. You love running through the water. You love sitting on the fountains. So WHY do you hate baths? Hmmm? HMMMM?

And speaking of WHYs, WHY do you insist on pitching a fit every time we leave you in the church nursery? I'm quite sure they don't poke you with hot pokers. I'm quite sure they don't feed you gruel. And, most importantly, I'm quite sure they don't give you a bath. So what's the problem? Daddy and I miss going to Sunday School together. We're taking a marriage class and it would be more beneficial if both members of this marriage could particpate in the class together. Because right now, either I take you home, or Daddy and I tag-team walking you around the church while the other goes to class. But we're gonna keep trying, because I know that one day, you'll love being in there. They have a ball pit - how could you not think that's completely awesome?!

Daddy and I gave you your first chore this month. You are now the official diaper-throw-away-er. It's about time you started earning your keep around here, and I can think of no better job than for you to discard your own waste. Thankfully you'll happy oblige every time I ask you to take your diaper to the trash, but alas, you happen to be the slowest diaper-throw-away-er in the history of diaper-throw-away-ers. We're taking about a 10 foot trip, from where I change you to where the trash can is. But that 10 foot trip takes you forEVER. You're not unlike Billy from The Family Circus cartoon. Here's how the process goes:

Nat: *you take the diaper*
Momma: "Natalie, please throw the diaper in the trash can."
N: *holding up the diaper and pointing to the trash can*
M: *nodding encouragingly* "Yep! That trash can right over there! Now scoot!"
N: *lots of giggling; pointing to yourself as if saying "Oh, you want ME to throw it away? This diaper I have in my hand? This one right here? You want me to take THAT to the trash? Really??"
M: *trying not to laugh* *failing horribly*
N: *meandering aimlessly, though thankfully in the general direction of the trash can*
M: "Natalie, go! To the trash can! Now!"
N: *more giggling* *getting distracted by toys along the way*
M: "Natalie Jane! Go. To. The. Trash. Can. Now. Please."
N: *offering ME the diaper, as if you're saying "Oh Momma, you do such a better job than I do. Why don't YOU throw it away FOR me?"
M: "Not a chance, munchkin. Now go!"
(what seems like) 12 hours later, you FINALLY make it to the trash can. Then you hold the diaper over the trash as if you're reconsidering my request (demand). And then finally (FINALLY) you drop it in the trash can.

Seriously. You're practically ready for another diaper change in the time it takes you to throw it away. But it's your chore. And I'm trying to teach you some responsibility. I'm totally happy with your eagerness. We just need to work on your speed and focus. But your adorableness and sense of humor? Couldn't be better.

Hugs and smooches,
Mommy & Daddy

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Headlines from June 1, 2010:

• Coast Guard warned day after rig blast that blown-out Gulf well could leak 336,000 gal. a day
• Women Are Shunning Nutritious Foods, Study Reveals
• Hugh Laurie on Leaving ‘House M.D.’ After Season 7
• ‘Devastated’ Emma Watson and Daniel Radcliffe Shoot Final Scene of ‘Harry Potter’
• Obama, Brewer Meet on Arizona Immigration Law

Weekly Natalie - Weeks 73 & 74

Please excuse my lack of posts - Team Smith just got back from a week-long vacation in California. Well, I should rephrase that. It wasn't a true vacation because I had to bring my boss. Lee didn't bring HIS boss, but I had to bring my boss. Granted, my boss is less than three feet tall, and only weighs 25 pounds, but she's a demanding one. Here's a quick recap:

• realized just how much Natalie likes dogs ... and just how much we should get a dog for her
• realized that there are some wacky people out there ... people who feel the need to tattle on my daughter by telling me that she's holding a rock. A harmless little rock. That was firmly in her hands - NOT her mouth.
• realized just how much my child likes being outdoors. We went camping last weekend, and she was like a pig in slop, playing in (and occasionally eating) dirt, and carrying around sticks and leaves.
• realized that it's possible for there to be a ton of snow on the ground ... and it be 65 degrees outside. It's funny to see people in jeans, short sleeves, and snow boots.
• realized that going off-roading is SUPER fun (albeit a tad terrifying), and that off-roading is a sure-fire way to get Nat to sleep
• realized how much I miss my sister-in-law and her cute family