Edinger news

Natali things

2011-06-05T21:13:00.000-05:00

Natali is a growing little girl. She is 4 years old now! :) She is changing and to me acting a little older. It is very difficult to carry her any more which at 4 she shouldn't be carried anyways I guess. :)
One of the differences is that Natali is making up lots of games to play. She has a thing with our dog Ranger that she puts towels on him and calls him the "Pressible". I guess she got this from us saying impressive? Not really sure. Ranger puts up with a lot from her and we are thankful he is so patient. Natali also likes to put her Hot Wheel cars all over and around Ranger. Another thing she started is she builds a ladder out of Legos for the Lego people to go up and be on Ranger. She will cover him up with pillows too which is what one of the pictures is of. You can barely see Ranger's head.

Natali also does a lot of playing with her toys and making stories for them. It is really cute and it's neat to see her use her imagination. She does dialogue with her cars and other things.
Natali still likes to play with Legos also as I mentioned. She got a set for her birthday that you can make 3 different vehicles out of 1 set. She is changing it multiple times a day and is able to do a lot of it by herself. She can look at the instructions and follow them fairly well.
Things are going good around our house. Natali goes and goes and goes all day. :) She is quite the talker and doesn't like taking naps but still does.

This last picture is from our latest visit (maybe a month ago?) to see Natali's cousins - Finn and Asher and Aunt Jenny. Finn slept a lot of the time and Asher was taking a nap when we got there. But when Asher woke up, he and Natali had a little bit of interaction. Asher seemed to be proud of his little sister I think - he went over to where she was and smiled big and seemed to kind of show off his sister to us. We had a good time with them.

A post

2011-03-05T20:38:00.004-06:00

So yeah, haven't posted anything since last August...... I wonder if anyone still looks at our blog. I can't believe how time flies!

Things are going well around the Edinger household. See if I can update in a nutshell. :)

For Josh - he is working at a Dennys store now as the operator (head hancho in my words) and he has a pretty good commute for that. It has had its own trials but overall, he is doing good and the store is doing good also. I am proud of what he has accomplished!

For Christina - I continue to work at the animal hospital. I have cut my hours back a little to be able to spend more time with Natali.

For Natali - She is a smarty pants and she still loves her cars! And trains and trucks and anything with wheels. :) I asked her what kind of birthday party she would like this year and she said "Cars". She talks so clearly and cracks us up all the time.

It is hard to believe that our child will be 4 years old NEXT MONTH!!! That is so crazy to me. It seems like we were just celebrating her 3rd birthday last month.

We redecorated and painted Natali's room in December and it has Thomas the tank engine decals on part of the wall. We are trying to slowly "fix up" parts of our house in case we decide to move closer to Josh's work place, then it would be ready for that. God has blessed our family in a lot of ways. We have only had non-severe sickness in the past months, we have been safe driving some long drives and Josh's every day commute, and have had things we need and even a few splurges! We are so thankful.

I'd like to share a few pictures of random things since it's been so long!!!!!

Natali

2010-08-23T18:18:00.002-05:00

Just thought I would update on what Natali is up to these days.

She is for sure in the "Why?" phase of being a 3 year old. She asks "Why?" about just about everything! Can be very frustrating but I'm glad she cares I guess.

Natali will be starting a mother's day out / preschool in a couple weeks. It is on Tuesdays and Thursdays from like 9-2:30 something like that. I told her that she would be going to something like day care soon and that's all she talks about now! :) I had no idea she would be so interested in it, but every day she says "Can I go to day care today?" So hopefully it will be a good experience and she can make some new friends and learn some things.

Natali's favorite movie right now is the Disney Cars movie. She loves it and is now quoting lines from the movie! She is still very much in to playing with vehicles and trains.
Natali likes to sing and is really in to dancing, jumping, and just plain moving around. She goes and goes and goes and goes.....

Natali's asthma has been non-existant for the last 5 months or so. We are thankful for that. However, Natali has what her allergy doctor is cally Excema on her elbows, knees and belly. We are trying steroid cream (unfortunately) and a moisturizer cream twice a day and will see how that helps.

Well, there you have it. I need to stop because there is a 3 year old cruisin for a bruisin as you might say.

splash park

2010-07-26T12:32:00.002-05:00

Well, I guess it's about time I put something on the blog. These pictures are from about a month ago - Josh and I took Natali to one of the parks in town. It has a brand new water/spash pad. We drove up and the water wasn't going so I started to get really disappointed really fast. I walked up to it to try to find a button to turn it on, touched one of the poles and all the water came on!!! We were the only ones there for a while, then some other kids came. It was a really neat place and I was impressed with all the different water features. Natali had a blast and mommy and daddy got wet too!

Natali was scared of the big buckets that dumped water so she stayed away from that part. The nice things was all the water would come and go in a certain pattern so everything wasn't going all the time. We had a really good time and I am sure we will go back some day.

More to come on other summer adventures. :)

Writing

2010-05-26T21:17:00.003-05:00

Natali can write her name!! She needs a little help with which letter to write but she know how to write them! She is getting better - even today she knew that A comes after the N. :) She did this on Sunday I think it was. She gets so happy when she writes each letter!

Making faces

2010-05-24T21:16:00.002-05:00

I love to have Natali make different faces and it's something she seems to like to do too! Here are a few from our "session" the other day. I'll tell her what kind of face to make and she'll come up with something!

Frown face

Silly face

Another funny face

Surprised face (Yes, she can still do the "o" face)

Smile Natali!

Grandma's visit

2010-05-18T21:33:00.002-05:00

My grandma came to visit for a few days this past weekend from Wed night until Mon morning. We had a really great time - got to go to Pump It UP, ate out for lunch and dinner a couple times, and played at the park. We enjoyed our time and had 4 generations together!

Bday catch up Part 2

2010-05-17T21:36:00.003-05:00

We had a great time with the Bradfords who came over and brought ice cream sandwiches. Natali shower her cousin the train set and he decided it was good enough to eat!! :)

Catch up on birthday events Part 1

2010-05-02T15:59:00.003-05:00

Birthday party at KidsView Park

We had a party with some friends and family last Sunday for Natali's birthday. It was at a local park and we had a pavillion rented. The weather wasn't exactly what I had wanted, but at least it wasn't raining. It was extremely windy!! We had to duct tape to tape down the table cloths and it was actually a bit chilly. But the kids didn't care about the wind when they were playing on the playground and us adults made it through also. :) We had a Thomas the Tank Engine themed party so I made train sugar cookies with the help of my sister and mom. Actually Natali helped me make the batter and they helped me decorate and cut them out. I also made a chocolate chip cookie "cake".

We had 3 other kids attend the party - 2 of which I got a picture of plus Natali. They were all moving around so fast at the playground, it was hard to get pictures! Overall I think the party was a success and Natali got some neat presents and some new clothes.

I will have more pictures/post at another time with our other birthday events.

Caldwell Zoo trip

2010-04-13T21:03:00.003-05:00

I know we have been MIA for a while. Life goes too fast sometimes. Josh is training in Dallas for Denny's and he is gone from home a lot so mostly it is me and Natali. However, Josh was home for a long weekend and I happened to be off work Monday so we decided to do something different and went to the zoo in Tyler which is about 45 minutes from our house. This is a wonderful zoo and we always enjoy going. Natali did really good even though she had not napped and we were there for almost 3 hours from about noon until 3.

We asked Natali what she wanted to see first and she said "the giraffes" so we did that first.

Another highlight I think for her was the bird walk through where you can feed the birds with seed on a stick. Natali even picked a little toy bird from the gift shop as her treat above all the other cool things.

One of the cool parts for us was when the white tiger came right up to the side of the cage and just stood there for a few minutes because he/she was very interested in something outside of the cage. Wow.

I will hopefully put more pictures up tomorrow but that is not a promise. :) We have a lot of cool and fun pictures to share. We had perfect weather and the zoo was not crowded at all so it was even better. Natali called the penguins "sassy" and she would say "let's keep moving" and she was excited to see "all kinds of animals". It was a great experience for all and we look forward to going back hopefully when my sister and brother-in-law come to Longview in a couple weeks. Thanks to all who check this blog regularly - I will try harder to have updates closer together!

Snow day 2010

2010-02-17T18:53:00.004-06:00

I am finally getting pictures on here from our snow. Our electricity had gone out for about 7 hours and it messed up our internet modem. We got it fixed today so I can use the internet now! I was amazed when I got up last Friday morning to find a TON of snow covering everything! Everything was white and beautiful. Natali loved the snow and I captured some cute pictures.

We went over to my parents' house because they had electricity and Uncle Mike was kind enough to play with Natali for a little while and pulled her on the sled. Yes, we have a sled. My parents have had that since I was little!

Silly girl

2010-01-29T20:15:00.003-06:00

I took this picture a few weeks ago. She was going potty and had been in there for a while, so I went in to check on her. This is what I found.

She is normally allowed to get 1 sticker when she goes potty. She went a little overboard and dumped the whole bag! :)

A trip to the park

2010-01-22T20:54:00.003-06:00

So today we all got to have a few hours together and we went to the park. It was a beautiful day outside, a little windy, but overall pretty nice. We brought bread of course because Natali wanted to feed the ducks and hear them go Quack Quack. She really enjoyed herself as did we.

Here they come when they found out we had bread!

Natali not real sure about the ones close up

I love when the water makes the rainbow color!

Natali saying "cheese"!

Josh started his new job at a Denny's restaraunt and he is having to work a lot of overnight hours (they are open 24-7). We haven't seen much of each other lately so we were so glad to have a couple hours this afternoon together! And to spend with our cutie!

2009-12-26T21:21:00.003-06:00

Well, we made it through Christmas. We had a wonderful time Christmas Eve with Josh's parents and sister, brother-in-law, and 2 month old little boy. He is so cute and starting to smile at things. :) We had Christmas with my family last Saturday because they went to Florida this week. Natali received all kinds of things: CDs, a couple videos, a My Little Pony, shoes, and other fun things. She was most excited about a few new vehicles of course. She also got a remote control car from A. Jenny and U. Christian which she loves! It's made for little kids and she is able to work it pretty good.
We have been letting Natali take naps again because after about a week without a nap, we realized they still might be necessary sometimes! She was being quite cranky. So if she needs it, we let her nap but try to make it early in the day. She is doing wonderful with potty training! We are so proud of her and she got more panties for Christmas. :)
Will try to put pictures up soon, I know it's been a while. Busy busy bees around this house.
One more bit of information, we will be closing the coffee shop that we opened last year in September. Unfortunately the sales and income were just not enough to keep going. We will miss the place and put a lot in to it - especially Josh. We know the Lord will provide for us and Josh has actually had a job offer somewhere else already. Hopefully all will work out.

Changes

2009-12-02T19:18:00.003-06:00

It's crazy how fast a 2 1/2 year old seems to keep growing up. Natali has gone 4 nights wearing panties and staying dry all night. She does just fine during the day so far staying dry all day. She is finally okay with learning how to pull her panties down by herself too. She has also stopped taking naps... I should say, we have stopped letting her take naps. She was staying up until 10:00pm a lot of nights so we are trying no naps and she is getting to bed a little earlier - about 8:30pm. She has SO MUCH energy at night it is amazing!! She runs around making lots of noise yelling and singing... back and forth... back and forth. Crazy. She just talks so much, she knows a lot of songs and can sing them pretty much on tune, and her vocabulary is wow!

A couple pictures of the precious

The above picture is just another example of how she lines things up. (Notice all the cars are facing the same way too) :)

Squishy car

2009-11-18T20:52:00.003-06:00

I can't believe I haven't blogged about Natali's squishy car! Natali goes to a family friend's house usually one day a week. They have 3 boys and Natalis loves to go to their house because they have lots of vehicles! :) One day the mom gave Natali this stuffed race car. She said Natali had been carrying it around a lot that day and they would like for Natali to have it. Natali has been attached ever since! She has to have the "squishy car" with her every time she sleeps. It's the funniest thing - I guess it is kind of like other kids who have blankies - she even talks to it. I can't remember the exact circumstances of this picture but here is Natali asleep with her squishy car.

News on the kiddo

2009-11-16T19:40:00.004-06:00

Well, we started puting big girl panties on Natali over the weekend. My mom suggested to give it a try. Natali stayed with my parents Friday night and Saturday morning because I had to work Saturday. So they put the panties on... Dora panties of course! When my mom put them on, Natali said "These are very soft!". She did really good - at one point she started to go pee-pee and leaked some but caught herself. She did that a couple times I guess but then seemed to get the idea. We told her to keep Dora dry and she goes for that. :) She says "Dora needs to be happy so I will keep her dry". Sunday she did really good and today has gone alright. Still needs work but overall, I'm impressed. This morning, she came out of her room and the first thing she said was "Mommy, can I make pee-pees in the potty?"! So we sat on the potty (she had already gone a little in the nighttime pull-up) and she went a little more and did a #2. Then she saw her panties and said "Can I wear the yellow ones today?". It made me so happy!

Sorry if this is too much information for some people but that is our beginning to big girl panties! Natali can talk like the best of them! She understands just about anything. Oh, another thing is that she likes to make funny faces and have other people make funny faces. SO here is a funny face session with Natali.

All you have to do is say "Natali, make a funny face". :)

Could it be.... a post?

2009-10-16T20:46:00.004-05:00

Yes, as a matter of fact, it is a post. I have been really busy, out of town, and some is just plain lazy. Natali is growing like crazy in personality and vocabulary. She is amazing with what she can remember and then use later in the right way. She'll say "it's a pleasant day outside" and "I'm funny aren't I?" and "is this your antibiotic?" or "she just had a problem" or "can we go to my home now?". She knows Bible verses and songs and her ABCs and she can count in Spanish. One of the biggest things she is still in to are vehicles. She especially likes to line them up in a line anywhere at anytime. She'll line up anything actually and she'll also put things in piles or around each other. Here are some pictures

Shnedgie

2009-09-09T18:16:00.003-05:00

A couple nights ago, for some reason we got on the topic of a wedgie when Natali was around. Her Pull-Up was bunching up in her rear end and I think Josh told her it is called a wedgie. She thought that was funny. The next day in the morning, Natali's was having bunching up problems again and she said "I have a shnedgie"! It was hilarious and I died laughing. She was very upset and said " I have a shnedgie!!!!!" So we fixed it and she was happy. Then I think she later said "I don't have a shnedgie anymore." She is too much!
I tried to get the video on here but didn't have luck, so I will have to try again another day.

Trying to be a big girl

2009-08-26T19:01:00.003-05:00

Natali is officially without her paci - we took it away last Friday night. She has done okay. The first couple nap times didn't go so well, actually they didn't go at all - no nap Saturday or Sunday. She is taking longer to fall asleep and just keeps on talking in her bed. Most nights we stay with her to help her fall asleep but we will stop doing that soon. She still asks for the purple paci but not often. It's funny - she'll be in her bed and say " I need.... I need.... I need.... somethin." Like she thinks she can't say the paci word anymore.
Also, we are done with diapers - we are using pull-ups and working on potty training. I think it might be a little early but there is no turning back now. It's gonna take a while I am pretty sure to get the potty training down all the way. I don't know what to do!!! :) She goes in the potty pretty good but also goes in her pull-up.
We got a growth chart thing from my parent's for Natali's birthday and put it up sometime in May I think and marked where she was at that point. Well, we decided to see her how tall she is and she is 3 inches taller!!!!!! All her dresses were seeming short and she is growing out of her shoes. And she is reaching even more places she couldn't reach before. (Starting to work on doorknobs). Hard to believe a child can grow so much in a short time! Well, that's all for now. I have a really cute video I will hopefully post tonight.

The Nebulizer

2009-08-10T20:50:00.004-05:00

We had to take Natali back to the asthma/allergy doctor last week because her asthma wasn't getting any better after wheezing and coughing for 1 week with the ear infection. We finally have a nebulizer. I wondered when we would finally reach that point. The inhalers just didn't seem to be doing the trick anymore. Natali was a little scared of the nebulizer at first but she has done way better than I would expect. The nebulizer has a storybook and stickers with it about Mr.Bubbles and the face mask is a fish face! :) We read the story about Mr.Bubbles needing the nebulizer because he couldn't blow very big bubbles. Well, when I went to turn it on, Natali said "make bubbles!". She thought the machine was going to make bubbles apparently after the story. Anyways, it has helped her out a lot. As long as she can watch a video, she sits really good for it. Sometimes she holds it and sometimes we will strap it on her head. The doctor said if Natali has another "asthma attack" we may look in to allergy testing. SO here are the pictures of Mr.Bubbles and Natali. (Actually she has changed it to DR. Bubbles) Silly kids.

stuff

2009-07-30T20:38:00.002-05:00

Natali has had a runny nasty nose the last couple days and didn't feel real good last night. This morning she woke up with discharge out of her right ear. ARRGHHH. This is really frustrating and I know not fun for her. Although, she always is in such a good mood. Of course her asthma is flairing up too.
I am glad tomorrow is Friday - just ready for this week to be over. Natali is talking so much it is unbelievable. She saw a light on our computer yesterday and said "It's very strange". :) She uses words like that perfectly - I wouldn't think she would understand words like that - and "actually" and others like that. Crazy.
That's all for now. I will put up some pictures over the weekend sometime.

4th of July

2009-07-18T21:08:00.004-05:00

I realized I didn't post pictures from the 4th of July party we went to. Kind of late but oh well. We went to the house of one of the doctors that I work for. Natali had fun going down the slide and swinging. Also, they had a train which Natali really enjoyed and we had to ride it twice. :) Here are the pics!

Natali talk

2009-07-17T20:38:00.002-05:00

This morning we had a really bad thunderstorm/lightning/lots of rain/strong winds. There was a really big thunder, so I went and sat in Natali's room in case she needed me or whatever. She woke up shortly after that and I went and sat next to her bed. She said "I hear thunder". I said "Yup there is thunder". Natali said "It goes BOOM BOOM sometimes". :) I agreed with her and then I laid down on the floor by her bed and I guess we both fell back asleep because I woke up about 30 minutes later and Nat was still in her bed but waking up. I sure didn't mean for that to happen but it did! So then we both got up and went on with our day.

Our day included a trip to Dr.Holman's office who is an asthma/allergy specialist. Overall, he said the medicines Natali is on are good and to continue them. However, we will change the inhaler she is on every day to see if we can keep her from having flair ups. Also, we are to work a little bit on her inhaler technique to try to get her to take longer breaths each time. The appointment was okay except for Natali crying the whole time the doctor tried to look and listen to her. She hates to have her ears looked at and the stethascope. I guess one day she will understand it's not that big of a deal!!! :)

Natali was fussy a lot more today than usual from first thing this morning. Not sure what that's about. She has been putting her fingers in her mouth a lot too today. I will have to get on our other computer tomorrow and post some pictures. Until then, it's nice to have some quiet since Natali is asleep and not whining about everything like she has been today.

More potty news

2009-07-10T20:59:00.002-05:00

Natali pee peed in the potty last night before her bath! :) She also has gone #2 another night this week. I know nobody probably wants to hear that, but maybe someone wants to know.
Anyways, potty training is coming. She wants to sit on the potty but usually she has just gone in her diaper. Oh well.

We will be seeing an asthma specialist next Friday morning so I'll keep everyone posted on how that goes. I am hoping for some more insight and maybe changing medications. I am just very curious to hear this doctor's opinion on Natali's asthma. She has been doing pretty good lately - just occasional coughing or wheezing. Hopefully Natali will be good and talkative to the doctor.

Big girl bed

2009-06-30T20:49:00.003-05:00

Natali has been doing pretty good since we changed her bed to a toddler bed. The first night I checked on her before I went to bed and she was hanging halfway off the bed sound asleep so I scooted her back up and she did good the rest of the night.

This morning after my shower, I went to check on Natali. She wasn't in her bed and the house was perfectly quiet. Of course I start thinking bad things that she was unconscious somewhere or something like that. Well, I walk in to the living room and this is what I found......

Natali was sound asleep on the floor!!!!! I couldn't believe it. I bet from the time Josh left for work to the time I was out looking for her was maybe 20 minutes. I really wish I knew what happened in that time frame. :) So, we are experiencing new things with Natali now able to get in and out of the bed. She is cute - she says "Sleep in the big girl bed".

We are still working on the potty training - no more successes while sitting on the potty. A few times she has been on the potty, gotten up, and pooped in her diaper less than 10 minutes later. Very frustrating but I know she'll get it.

Naming our friends

2009-06-29T11:44:00.002-05:00

Yesterday we changed Natali's crib into her "big girl bed" which is nothing more than taking the slats off the front and opening up her crib so she can get in and out on her own. We will post pictures and talk more about that in the next few days but I have a funny quick story about her during that process. We let her climb up and get in her bed on her own when we finished and she grabbed her little stuffed frog. I asked her what the frogs name was, and it doesn't have one so she said she didn't know. I then told her to give it a name since it didn't have one. She looked at it and thought very hard for a moment and then said "Samma-doo" followed by lots of laughing, and I have no idea how to spell that so I'm doing my best and spelling out what she said! So now the frog is officially Samma-doo. I just thought it was neat how she was able to give it a name and according to Grammie she remembered it's name this morning when she woke up! It's the little things that are special and that was a special moment for us with Nat!
-posted by Josh

Pool

2009-06-25T20:41:00.002-05:00

These pictures are from last weekend I think - the first time we had gotten out the pool. Natali loves to play in water. It is hard to get her out of the pool when it's time to go inside. And if it wasn't for those pesky mosquitos we could go in the pool more often.

I think Natali is cutting her fourth back molar. She has the bottom 2 and the top left but the top right is peeking through. She has been chewing on her fingers a lot the past few days and not eating quite as much.

So, she's been a little extra cranky lately but I think we are starting to get used to cranky. :)

Natali talk

2009-06-25T06:48:00.002-05:00

I am in our "office" on the computer. Natali came in and wanted something off of the bookshelf - a wooden skunk, cat, and a car. After saying "please" she got them. She took all 3 and went in the living room. About a minute later I hear- "Look at this vehicle Ranger, I got it from Mommy!" :) (Ranger is our dog) Then she said "I got this skunk too". She is so funny! She likes to talk to the animals like they are people and she loves to show people what she has.
I have the day off so hopefully I will post pictures later today. I just wanted to blog this while it is fresh on my mind.

I can't believe it!!!!!!!

2009-06-15T22:05:00.002-05:00

I'll get right to the point - NATALI POOPED IN THE POTTY TONIGHT!!!!!! I know that is kind of a crazy way to start a post, but I am thrilled! We have had the potty out for over a month, maybe 2 months and we let her sit on it every now and then and we talk about it all the time. About how she needs to make poo poo and pee pee in the potty and no more diper changes and so on and so forth. Natali hasn't showed a whole lot of interest but some and she is definetly, shall we say, prize motivated. :) Yes, I'll say "I'll give you something special Natali if you do....." and just about every time she will do it. I know it sounds bad to bribe your children but we only do it when necessary. SO Natali got a little plastic frog for going poo poo on the potty. She was happy. This is a scary part of parenting for me - potty training. I'm really not sure where to go from here and what do you do when you are out somewhere and she needs to go potty and there are only big potty chairs? Oh what things life brings when being a parent. More to come on the potty training.......

Some of Natali's new favorite things

2009-06-13T20:58:00.003-05:00

Natali has recently been interested in doing new things.

She loves to "stand on daddy"

"Stack 'm up" She likes to stack up these boxes she got for her birthday and knock them over, stack them up and knock them over, stack them up.... you get the picture.

She likes to spend time with daddy when he is able to come home in the evenings. Natali hardly pays attention to me if daddy is home. Oh well. We are glad that Josh has been able to come home a few nights a week lately and of course we are able to spend Sundays together because the coffee shop is closed.
We are having an interesting time dealing with our new 2 year old child with an opinion on everything, a will to disobey a lot of the time, a will to challenge things she is told to do, but also just plain cute and fun to have conversations with and talk to. She talks about EVERYTHING - if she sees something, she tells you what it is, if she is doing something, she'll tell you what she is doing, and so on and so on. Overall, I think we are doing well, but it sure is tough these days.

Last couple weeks

2009-06-03T19:48:00.002-05:00

So yes, I (Christina) have been gone for a week in Ohio and then a busy weekend of work and then another busy first of this week at work. Josh posted the previous 2 posts while I was gone. :) I had a really good time with Rebecca and my mom came too. We picked out a wedding dress for Rebecca and the bridesmaid dresses.
Natali is going through another asthma flair up but I think it is getting a little better - at least I think it has stopped getting worse.
I have to tell a story from the first morning I was home. I got in Wednesday night after Natali was asleep. The next morning I got her out of bed and got her started on breakfast. I was in the bathroom and she walked to the door, and said "missed you mommy" and I told her I has missed her too and then she said "Daddy missed you". How sweet is that!!!!!!! So I was happy Natali was glad to have me back.
So hopefully some pictures to come when I have more time.

While and Grammies......

2009-05-29T16:33:00.004-05:00

Things that happen at Grammies/Grappies are supposed to stay at Grammies/Grappies.......unless the picture is too cute to hide! This is obviously Natali playing with a live toad. She really likes this toad!

A daddy's tale

2009-05-26T17:40:00.002-05:00

Well I don't have any pictures to put up with this because Christina has the camera up in Ohio with her, but I would like to share a little update from daddy's perspective. Christina has been in Ohio helping her sister make wedding plans and the like since Thursday of last week so this has given me an excuse to get away from Mugshot and spend some time with Natali, not as much as I would like mind you! Anyway, she continues to amaze me with her sharp mind and just the fact that she is growing up and now able to communicate with us so much better. We have this routine that needs to stop although I will miss it when it does stop. I take full responsibility for starting the whole thing because daddy is a major softy when it comes to my baby girl. Somehow at night when it is time to go to bed, Natali has decided that she needs to hold someone's hand (specifically - a finger) while she drifts to sleep. If this does not happen, she will cry out very loudly "Hold a finger, Hold a finger!!!!" So daddy not being able to say no to this, sits beside the crib and puts just enough of his hand through the slats and lets Natali hold a finger until she falls asleep. Admitedly this needs to stop because she needs to sleep on her own but I just really enjoy that quiet time and I get sad when I think it will have to end. She reaches out and gets a rather strong grip on my pointer finger and just watches me as the sleep takes over and her blue eyes get too heavy. I just sit and watch her for sometimes up to 20 minutes as she lays so peacefully and innocently in her bed. There is something about where she is in life that is desirable, she is taken care of, all of her needs and most of her wants are done for her to keep her content and care-free. If only we could learn to be that way with our Father, we are taken care of, no matter what it looks like. Nat and I have had alot of fun, but we are ready for mom to come back and put some stability in our lives! One more thing about the little ones, there is nothing on the planet like the hug that little arms can give, when it is followed by "love you daddy," it just makes everything else go away and you know there has just been a moment you would never trade for anything but you would give anything to hear it again! Being a daddy is a rather good thing to be.

Rainbow

2009-05-16T20:00:00.003-05:00

I forgot to blog about the rainbow. On Natali's birthday, this is what we saw on our way home from ToysRUs . This was a full rainbow - you could see the whole thing from end to end. We actually stopped in a parking lot to show Natali and to take a picture (since I had my camera in the car still). When Natali saw the rainbow she said "Noah made it". :) I guess that's close. We told her that God made the rainbow and it was for Noah at one time and so on...... I am just in awe of rainbows everytime I see them. Also on the left side of this rainbow was part of a double rainbow. So enjoy!!!!

Natali's first 2 years of life

2009-05-11T21:46:00.002-05:00

I know I'm late, but I love to remember all the moments we have shared with Natali over the last 2 years. These are only a few of my favorite pictures. Happy late Birthday again Natali!!!

We had a good birthday celebration while my sister and her fiance Bradley, my mom's parents, and my brother were all in town. I am so behind in blogging and most everything else around the house. Oh well. We are trying to get Natali over another asthma flair up.....started last Wednesday.. so hopefully she will be breathing better soon.

2009-04-28T21:25:00.004-05:00

Happy Birthday a day late to Natali!! We had a birthday party Saturday night with the Edinger side of the family and had lots of fun. I made a ladybug cake and we had other "snacky" things and ice cream. Natali got some new vehicles which made her very happy. :)

Last night we went out to eat at Chik-Fil-A with my parents and enjoyed dinner and Natali played in/on the playground. Then we went to ToysRUs because they sent a coupon for Natali to use on her birthday and the card said that if she came in to the store, she would be treated extra special. So we had to see what that was about. She got a balloon, some candy and a crown to wear. She was SO CUTE walking around ToysRUs holding her balloon and Natali was in heaven - she looked at everything and pushed all the buttons on all the toys. Daddy was a softy and let Natali get a new dump truck that makes noises and all kinds of things. :0) That's what birthdays are for right??? Overall, we had a great birthday weekend and we are so happy to have our little 2 year old!!!

Vehicles and new race track

2009-04-19T21:08:00.004-05:00

Natali is really in to "vehicles" lately. She will play with cars/trucks/tractors, etc. all day long and most of the time is spent lining them up, relining them up, and then puting them in a different line again. Sometimes they are right side up and sometimes she puts them upside down. She mostly does this on the couch for whatever reason. I took some pictures from a couple days last week of her playing with the "vehicles". (By the way, that is what she calls all of them - vehicles, but if you ask her what a certain one is, she will specify. EX: truck, hummer, Nissan Z, etc.) :)

Also, I got her a race track that I found at WalMart on the clearance isle. She enjoys watching them go around and around and she can actually catch them and then put them back on the track if she wants to. We had to get rechargeable batteries because she wears the regular ones out too fast.

she said..

2009-04-06T20:35:00.002-05:00

On Sunday I was getting ready to put Natali's shoes on for church. But she saw a different pair of shoes on the rocking chair and said "These, I like"! :) It is so funny to us the way she keep putting things together. We can have pretty decent conversations with her and understand what she is trying to say to us.
She was playing in her room on Saturday and I walked in and talked to her for a minute. Then she looked at me and said "bye bye mommy". I said "Do you want mommy to leave?" and she said "yes". So I left and she kept playing in her room all by herself.
Gotta love it!!!

Finally - some pictures!!

2009-03-28T21:17:00.003-05:00

I have had some complaints that there are not any current pictures or much of anything on this blog in the last few weeks. Yes, I have been using my time to do other things unfortunately. We have been very busy at work and at home so blogging has been on the back burner. And, it seems like I haven't taken hardly any pictures of Natali in the last few months because she is always moving - it is very difficult to take pictures at this age. But I managed to capture some good ones.

Natali being tickled by daddy.

Say "cheese" !

This is to show what a big girl she is getting to be in her chair - she used to look so small sitting in it.

Silly girl - she is giving a funny look.

P.S. Yes, her hair is very light, sortof sandy blonde I guess. People ask us quite frequently "Where does she get the blonde hair?" We don't really know - Josh's sister has blonde hair but other than that we all have brown hair. Who knows. Natali gets the blue eyes from daddy but who could figure I/we would end up with a blonde hair / blue eyed kid. :)

New saying

2009-03-02T20:23:00.002-06:00

I was giving Natali a bath yesterday morning and I was trying to wash her legs and this is what I get - "go away". I kept washing her legs and then "go away Mommy" with a whine to it. Yeah, the whole getting their own will and opinions on things is for sure in fully swing. It's a challenge to deal with her right now - definitely a learning experience. :) Good stuff.

cookie bar and other Nat stuff

2009-02-24T20:59:00.003-06:00

Natali is into "cookies" these days. Cookies include: fig bars, granola bars, and real actual cookies. Every morning lately she says "cookie... bar" and she would like either a granola bar or fig bar. She pretty intent when she wants a certain thing to eat. :)

Natali is also learning to sing. She almost has the alphabet song down and she'll say "Now I BCs". (Now I know my ABCs) and then"sing me" (sing with me). It's pretty cute. She also sings part of Old McDonald. I know this is sad but I watch American Idol on TV sometimes and their theme song has this certain sound at the end that changes from one note to another one a little bit higher. Natali does it perfectly with a "ooo...oooo" with the note changes.

Natali just amazes us every day on her ability to communicate and understand things. She is so smart and she isn't even 2 years old yet. She still likes to read and play with all her toys. She is still lovin' the pacifier but we will let her have it for a while longer. Overall, Natali is doing great.

outside

2009-02-14T21:27:00.003-06:00

Natali the other day after it rained. She absolutely loves to go outside!! She doesn't care if it is dark outside, raining, freezing cold.....whatever the weather, Natali wants to go outside.

First hair cut

2009-01-30T21:39:00.002-06:00

Natali's first hair cut! I only was allowed by daddy to cut bangs - I couldn't even trim the rest of her hair. :) So I did a really quick job of the bangs while Josh was home Wednesday night. Natali was a little nervous about the scissors but we made it through. Then she got a bath which she loves.

An 18 month checkup finally...

2009-01-24T20:30:00.003-06:00

(the shirt says "and no one gets hurt" under the big letters)

We went yesterday for Natali to have her 18 month visit and shots. We haven't been able to go because Natali has been sick the last couple months. But anyways - she looks good! Ears are still okay thank goodness. Everything else looks and sounds good. She got 2 vaccines and the flu shot.

Here are the Natali stats:

27 pounds 33 inches long/tall 19 1/2 inches head circ.

Overall, she is above average - in the 75th percentile. Dr.Roberts says to keep Natali away from cookies and french fries!!! :) Natali really doesn't get those that often but I guess that is a nice way to say she is a little pudgy? :) Oh well. She just eats so much at mealtime so we might cut her back some. Also, I am to make sure to brush Natali's teeth twice a day (right now it's probably like every other day). So I will do it after each time I give Natali her medicine.

We are happy to have a healthy little girl right now.

update

2009-01-18T17:58:00.002-06:00

Well, Natali had her doctor visit last Monday and there is good news. :) Her ears look great right now - not redness or discharge! This is wonderful but we still go 2 more months on the 2 antibiotics. Natali's GI system is holding up pretty good - she had some diarrhea over the weekend but seems to be better now.

Natali is progressing very fast in the area of talking and understanding what things mean. She actually knows most of her alphabet and she tries to sing "Old McDonald". :) She can recognize letters anywhere. She saw a letter on a rug in a store and told us what letter it was. We are just amazed at how she can remember things she is taught.

Unfortunately Natali is becoming more independant. For example :
Natali is looking at her letter magnets on the refrigerator and saying her letters.
I go over there and say "What letter is that Natali?" And she tells me a couple.
Natali : "No mama" and proceeds to push me out of the way.
She does things like this quite often or only wants a specific person to do something for her.

Overall, we are doing well and enjoying Natali but also having some frustrating times with her and trying to figure out how to discipline her. Like when she doesn't come when we call her, when she screams in a store when I pick her up and it's time to go, or if I try to help her with eating food and she starts screaming at me. :) Fun stuff.

Family Christmas picture

2009-01-05T20:43:00.001-06:00

This is our attempt at a family picture for Christmas. Yeah, Natali wasn't exactly looking at the camera when we wanted her to......seems to happen with kids huh? :)

2009-01-05T18:46:00.003-06:00

Natali is finally letting me fix her hair sometimes. I have put pigtails a few times and she looks a lot different to me but it's pretty cute. It's hard to believe at this time last year she was just about bald!

Things are going pretty well. Natali is now on a 3 month regimen of 2 antibiotics together to try to finally clear up her ears. She had drainage again the week of Christmas and that's when they started the medicines. She had been on these 2 before, but only for like 2 weeks. The PA is saying it's possible the ear problems are from allergies, but we will see what happens. Natali goes to see her every 2 weeks now and we will go next Monday.

Natali is talking like crazy and is super smart. She understands so much now and puts 2 or more words together all the time. She also mumbles a lot too but she sure means something! We love the way she is growing mentally - it is amazing actually.

Here are some pictures of Natali that I took outside last week. She looks like a big girl. :)

Say "cheese"!

Christmas Tree Farm

2008-12-14T14:05:00.002-06:00

So we went to cut down our Christmas tree the Saturday after Thanksgiving and I am just now getting pictures up. My grandparents who live in Florida were down and were able to come with us - we had lots of fun! It was a little windy and chilly but not as cold as it has been some other years.

In order to get to the trees, we had to take a hay ride pulled by a big tractor.

Uncle Mike and the bundled up Natali.

Great Grammie and Natali walking in the tree farm.

Yea - we found our tree!!

P.S. Our tree is up in the house but no decorations on it yet but hopefully that will happen today.

Ponytail

2008-12-05T15:12:00.002-06:00

I finally got a ponytail in Natali's hair last week! She doesn't really like me to mess with her. Infact, she didn't really want to be still for me to take a picture either.. hence the off centered picture. :) Oh and pardon the mess. Natali's hair is getting so long we are probably going to cut her bangs soon. I can't believe it. Her hair will go nicely into pigtails if she would just let me........

These boots are made for walkin.....

2008-11-24T20:22:00.003-06:00

Josh's mom got Natali these rain boots a few weeks back and the first time GramE tried them on her, Natali didn't much care for it. Well, a couple nights ago Natali brought me one of them and said "boots". So I put both of them on and she started walking around the house. :) The boots are too big but Natali didn't seem to mind this time. Here is the cuteness in her cool rain boots!!!!

New toy

2008-11-22T20:48:00.003-06:00

My brother Michael came in to town this weekend as a surprise. We all met at Sam's for dinner (gotta love the cheap big pieces of pizza and a drink). Sam's had these big stuffed animals that have something really sturdy inside of them so a kid can sit on it. Michael was sneaky and bought one and we found out in the parking lot when he gave it to Natali. Natali likes it a lot and when she sits on it she roars like a lion. :)

Natali giving the lion/bear (not really sure what it is) a hug.

Here she is roaring and she puts her hands up like claws when she does it. It is really cute!!

Natali still have a little bit of a fever - I am not sure why it won't go away. It she still have a fever Monday, I'll have to take her back to the doctor. We will stay home from church tomorrow and then see what happens.

well she was feeling better

2008-11-21T20:29:00.002-06:00

Yes yes, Natali is sick again. An ear infection in the right ear still and the congestion/coughing/breathing fast stuff all over again. We are on some special ear drops and oral antibiotic that have to be mixed up for us at the Medical Plaza pharmacy. It seems like the ear drops are going fast already and we have just used them 2 days. The doctor says Natali keeps getting "viral induced asthma" meaning she gets a virus from day care or church nursery which causes the snotty nose, which gets in her ear and chest, which causes ear infection and congestion/wheezing. We are considering finding another means of child care since Natali seems to always be sick. And the doctor bills and medicine costs add up quickly. :) I had to stay home a couple days this week since she had fever this time. We are very thankful that Josh's mom could help watch Natali so I could at least work some.
I will try to take some pics this weekend to put on here. I really haven't talen hardly any in the last couple months. I guess that's a wrap for now.

Poo Poo

2008-11-11T20:57:00.003-06:00

Natali has started saying "poo poo". We started checking her diaper when she said it, and there wasn't anything but then like a few minutes or so later, she would have poopoo in her diaper! I am NOT ready for potty training. I haven't read up on it or anything. She actually hasn't done this today but she was doing it over the weekend. I hope we didn't miss our chance with her to start working on the potty training stuff. The other thing she does is if you put her in the car seat and she has a poopy diaper, she will say "poopoo". :) I'll have to keep everyone update on this.

I think Natali is finallly feeling better - not as much congestion, no more runny nose and no more stuff coming out of her ears. However, she has a horrible diaper rash right now - maybe a yeast infection. It is pretty painful for her when we clean her at diaper changes.

More words Natali can say:
puppy
cat
yes
"goo goo" - thank you
"peas" - please
"anki" - blanky
"ain" - train -she says this when she hears the train that goes near our house
cookie
daddy
she says "hi" and "bye bye" to everyone
light
"eaf" - leaves
stick

Photos at last and stuff

2008-11-08T21:22:00.003-06:00

I cannot believe it is November the 8th already.........time is seriously going too fast for me.

Natali is sick again - an infection in her right ear (yes even with the tubes) and some chest congestion/coughing. She is on an antibiotic again and ear drops. Aaarrgh. This is really frustrating me for me in many different ways but I will spare you all my thoughts. :) I would appreciate people praying for us and Natali - it is very hard to give so many medications 2-3 times a day. She is on 2 inhalers while she is congested, nose spray, ear drops, and antibiotic. We all get tired of it.

Mugshot is doing okay - we need some more business but overall we are doing well. We got a new security light today which makes a huge difference and the parking lot will finally be striped tomorrow. Yeah!!!!

Aunt Jenny and Uncle Christian sent balloons and puzzles for after Natali's ear tube surgery. She loved both of them! We are using the puzzles to teach her some words and colors. She like the balloon with Dora on it and when Natali looked at the silver side, she would say "babies" because she could see her reflection in the balloon.

2008-10-22T20:26:00.002-05:00

Well, we have been a busy family lately.

I went to Ohio to see my sister Rebecca with Natali and my dad. It was a good trip overall.
More on that at a later date.
The coffee shop is going pretty well - Fridays and Saturdays are busier than weekdays which is nice.
Natali had her 2 week checkup from the ear tube surgery and her ears look good! We have to continue a nose spray until it freezes and probably again in the spring. The doctor said it's so she hopefully doesn't get a runny nose which could lead to infection in her ears.

I will post pictures hopefully soon. SO sorry!

Life is pretty crazy right now.

Surgery went well!!

2008-10-07T20:50:00.003-05:00

Natali's surgery went well. The doctor said her ears were very bad (infected and stuff). The surgery took less than 20 minutes. She was pretty fussy the first hour or two but after that she has pretty much been herself. She is on a few different medications - nose spray, ear drops, antibiotic, and the inhaler that she has been on for a while. We are going to see Dr.Roberts tomorrow to have her check Natali's lungs - the anesthesiologist that helped with Natali's surgery was concerned about the congestion in her lungs. He says she has reactive upper airway something or other (basically asthma). So he really wanted us to see our pediatrician. We will see if Dr.Roberts wants us to use anything else to get her over this nasty stuff. We will keep you updated! Thanks to everyone who prayed for our little girl. It was really hard to let the nurse take Natali back for her surgery but God took good care of her. :)

Quick update

2008-10-06T20:36:00.003-05:00

So, I haven't posted in a while because life has changed around here and I haven't had the time or energy to get on the computer much.

Here are a few highlights:

Mugshot Coffee House opened on September 29th (this is the business we started in Longview)
So we were up there all the time the whole week before and week after that day

Natali is having tubes placed in here ears tomorrow morning bright and early
So we have been to the pediatrician and ear,nose,throat doctor

I had a seminar in Dallas from last Thursday until Sunday so Natali stayed with Grammie and Grampie

The house is a total wreck! Josh works pretty much 5:30am until 10:00pm on weekdays and until about midnight on weekend. Fortunately we are closed on Sundays. So I get up in the mornings and get myself and Natali ready for daycare and pick her up every day.

Then on this Thursday I am scheduled to take Natali to Ohio to see my twin sister Rebecca. (My dad is coming too)

So that's that in a nutshell. I will hopefully post some pictures sometime........Natali's hair is getting a lot longer and she is talking more.

Natali and "Mimmie"

2008-09-19T20:57:00.003-05:00

Natali loves her "mimmies". Lately she will bring these 2 big Minnie and Mickey to you and put her arms up for you to pick her up - she wants to sit in your lap between the 2 stuffed Mimmies.

Then she lays her head back and will stay there for just a little bit.

Well, Natali's daycare called Wednesday to say she had a 100.5 fever and she wasn't acting herself. Josh picked her up early and we called the doctor's office. They said to watch her for a night and see what her fever did. Thursday she woke up with 101.2 so she went AGAIN in to see Dr.Roberts. She thinks Natali now has a virus that has gone to her chest- her lungs sounded yucky. We now have a chamber inhaler to use on her 3-4 times a day. It is a mask with a chamber tube that you put the inhaler at the end of that. We have to put the mask over her nose and mouth and puff the inhaler to her. She absolutely hates it -she screams the whole time. I think it is helping though. Good news is that Natali's ears are looking better but not all the way better. We will go back AGAIN next Thursday for a recheck.

Hurricane Ike

2008-09-14T15:17:00.003-05:00

So Hurricane Ike came through Longview yesterday afternoon. Our electricity flickered all day long and finally went out at 3:30pm and didn't come on again until 10:30 this morning. Natali was a little concerned last night when the lights were out and she was very interested in all of the candles. :) The wind was just plain crazy! We had some big gusts that I was quite concerned about. Not damage to our house - but lots and lots of branches, pine cones, and leaves all over the front and back yard.
We drove over to my parents house for lunch and we saw a lot of down trees - 1 in particular had hit part of a house and caused some good damage. It was a very large tree and the whole thing was uprooted. I am amazed at all the damage just in Longview was caused by Mr.Ike.
So we are all okay here... thank you Lord for no more big branches falling into the house!!!!!!

Natali and her books

2008-09-12T21:16:00.002-05:00

She loves her books! We have them on a shelf that she can reach so lots of times she goes over there, grabs a book, and sits down and looks at it. :) Sometimes she will dump all the books on the floor before she decides which one she wants and sometimes she will bring a book to one of us to read to her. She is cute when she sits by herself and turns the pages, she jibber jabs the whole time like she is reading the book.
(please excuse the slobber spot on her shirt - this sickness and stuff makes her drool a lot) :)

Update on the sickie

2008-09-11T20:07:00.003-05:00

Well, Natali got a lot better by the end of last week and most of the weekend, but started getting worse in the middle of the week. She has been coughing a lot more and waking up at night coughing. The runny nose came back also. So we called the doctor's office and they advised for us to come in today which we had wanted to do anyways. Josh's mom and Josh took Natali in for a 3:40 appointment and Josh had to leave to go do something so it was just Grammie and Natali. They were there until 5:30!!!!!!! I couldn't believe it. Apparently one of the other doctors has quit so I guess the others are taking up the patients. The point of the story is that Natali's ear infections are still there so Dr.Roberts is adding another antibiotic. Nothing for the cough because she said that is associated with the ears. We will go for a recheck in 2 more weeks and see how things are coming along - hopefully there will be nothing to see in those ears!!!

Here is just a cute pic. She likes to have blankets put around her sometimes and she walks around the house like this. :)

Sickie

2008-09-03T20:47:00.002-05:00

Natali has had a runny nose and cough stuff for about 2-3 weeks so we decided to take her to the doctor since it seemed like she just couldn't shake this one. She has started wheezing a little bit when she breathed too. We went yesterday to see Dr. Roberts and Natali has 2 ear infections, a sinus infection and bronchitis or something like that. This time she was sick she never messed with her ears!!! Aaargh. We had no idea. That is the frustrating part. Plus a few weeks ago, Natali was waking up in the night crying a lot and we thought maybe it was some sort of phase she was going through because she seems to go through stages. Aaargh again. Of course we will never know for sure. Natali is on an antibiotic and a liquid to help dry up the snot. She seems better already today - the runny nose has run away. :) She has been is a good mood for all this which she usually is but hopefully it will be all better soon.

Also, Natali said "juice" tonight!!!! It was so clear... Josh and I looked at each other and was like "did she just say that?". She said it a few more times though not quite as clear. We are so excited to add another word to her vocabulary. Hopefully she will not forget this word. Another word she can say that I forgot to add to the list is "pop". She says this when she is outside with bubbles and touching them. :) So cute. Well, I should get to bed.

New skill

2008-08-27T20:35:00.003-05:00

Natali is finally stacking blocks herself! She has always just knocked down the blocks and refused to stack them. Yesterday we got the blocks out and she started putting them on top of each other!!! Josh and I couldn't believe it! As you can see she did 4 blocks on her own and later she did 5 I think. We are excited for this new milestone. :)

Oh, and Natali is 16 months old today!

Talking

2008-08-27T20:27:00.003-05:00

Natali's words

Words she is currently saying:
1. Dadda
2. Momma
3. Fish
4. More
5. Mimmi (Minnie)
6. Cacker (Cracker)
7. Nana
8. BUBBLE!
9. Uh oh
10. She still makes a cat, cow and dog noise when you ask her.

Words she has said in the past but seems to have forgotten them:
1. Yucky
2. Duck

Words she will say but only if you say them and then she repeats them:
1. Whoa Whoa Whoa
2. Book
3. Ball

That's all I can think of right now. She is doing really well. She tried really hard to say "Ranger" our dog's name last night so we will have to work on that one. It is so adorable when she says something I just love it!

2008-08-26T20:35:00.004-05:00

I have a few things to update but I will probably do them seperately - we'll see.

Natali has started sucking out of a straw. :) Josh and I have been making smoothies the last few nights and we use straws to drink them. Well, Natali comes over to us with her mouth open like a little birdie, so I thought I'd try the straw. I made the sucking noise and showed her what to do with her mouth. It took her just a few minutes of trying and she got it... and when she did, she liked it!! It was really funny. Then she kept wanting more and more and more and more! She knows now when the blender comes out what is coming and she gets excited.

"BUBBLE" !!!!

2008-08-17T16:29:00.003-05:00

This is a great video because it shows Natali saying "bubble" and it shows she can dance on command! :) She really does. One of things I always thought was cute about little babies before I was ever pregnant was when they would do a little dance. Now I have my own cute dancer!

Photo shoot

2008-08-16T18:33:00.004-05:00

I realized I needed more pictures to put on the blog, so I took Natali in her room and took a few pics of her.

She is doing really well , she has a little snotty nose right now, but otherwise good. She is learning more words - the main one right now is "bubbles". We have some bubbles from grandpa and Natalis loves to go outside and have us blow bubbles for her. Now she goes to the door and says "bubble". :) It's cute. I took a video of her outside with the bubbles on our video camera and I am still working on getting it downloaded to our computer. I will post that video later sometime. Natali is also into saying "uh-oh" when she drops something.

2008-08-07T21:27:00.004-05:00

Natali's hair seems to be growing really fast lately. Josh took this picture one night when I was gone and he had given Natali a bath. Her hair doesn't look this long when it is dry, so this is a cool picture to me. And kudos to daddy for getting a great picture! (He said it wasn't easy to get her still long enough to capture the photo)

Camera smile

2008-08-01T15:57:00.003-05:00

Natali somehow has figured out that she is supposed to smile for the camera! It is really funny. If you have the camera and say her name, she looks up at you and does this cheesy smile. She likes to look at the picture on the camera after you take it. Here are some examples:

Pig tails

2008-07-28T16:34:00.002-05:00

So, my first successful pigtails was the other night. Usually Natali does not like me to mess with her hair. She looks pretty cute with them so hopefully she will let me do it some more. I tried last night and she would have none of it!

2008-07-28T16:21:00.003-05:00

I can't believe I haven't blogged something in a week and a half. I haven't really taken hardly any pictures of Natali since she turned 1. It's really sad. I will try harder. Anyways.

So Natali is over the thrush, hand/foot/mouth disease, and I think over the yeast infection. She has a little bit of a cold right now.

She is all about showing her opinion about things these days. She likes to bat her hands at my face and yell when she doesn't like something I do. I didn't expect this to happen already. :) It's interesting.

I took a few pictures of Natlai in the bath and I like them because you can see her teeth so good - she has 6 teeth on top and bottom I think.

This last picture is of Natali waving bye-bye to the water. She does this now while the water is draining..... and most of the time she won't let you take her out of the tub until all the water is gone. :)

No pics, just words!

2008-07-16T21:28:00.002-05:00

So Natali has been busy learning and practicing new moves! Her latest funny thing is that when we make a certain sound that means basically "I'm gonna get you!" she looks at you with a certain look and starts to walk backwards slowly, then, she runs to you giggling until you grab her and give her a big hug, its a fun game, we recommend it! Also, when you change her T-shirt she knows just where to put her arms to get them in the holes, she is so very helpful.

She has had a few medical/health related issues lately. She has some fluid in her ears which the Dr. says should clear up on its own and it looks like it already has, she isn't pulling at her ears anymore. Next she had a mild case of hand, foot and mouth disease, probably contracted from daycare, but that seems to be clearing up as well. Lastly, she has a yeast infection that we first thought was just a nasty diaper rash, we were wondering why it wouldn't go away! And lastly lastly, she also had thrush which is somewhat uncommon for older babies to get, they say it is somehow associated with the yeast infection. All in all, Nat is still happy go lucky Nat, for the most part, she woke up at 11:30 last night and never really went back to sleep besides maybe some 30 minute spells here and there, so we all had a long night. We are hoping for a better night tonight. We are very blessed to have a child with such a bright attitude no matter what is going on with her, she just keeps a smile on, and we are glad for that.

P.S. this was written by daddy! :)

Silly girl

2008-07-11T21:38:00.003-05:00

Natali was full of laughs tonight during her bath. And she actually continued to laugh even after I got the camera to record her. :)

Just Nat being Nat

2008-07-10T21:23:00.001-05:00

Good stuff

2008-07-05T21:39:00.003-05:00

It seems like I have so much to talk about just in the last week. First and foremost - Natali's 2 ear infections have finally cleared up!!! Josh took her on Thursday to see Dr.Roberts and she said Natali looked great!

Natali is changing and learning new things so fast! Her biggest thing right now is that she gets a book and brings it to you, sits down so you will read her the book. Over and over and over again. :) Sometimes she puts her arms up for you to pick her up and read to her. She can point to her belly button now - she pulls up her shirt and points at it. If she has a onesie on, she tries to pull it up but can't and she gets kind of upset/worried. :) Natali knows when we say "Natali, do you want to get a bath?", she starts walking towards the bathroom! Also, you can ask "Do you want some socks on?" and she will put her foot up for you to put some on. When she finds her shoes she brings them to you and puts her foot up to get her shoes put on by someone.

We are having so much fun with Natali and how smart she is, the new things she learns, and how much she is growing in all sorts of ways. It is so amazing that her brain allows her to figure things out.

Happy 14 months to Natali!

2008-06-27T21:05:00.002-05:00

Can't believe she can be that old already - time sure is flying fast. Natali is actually spending the night at my parents' house because both of us have to work early tomorrow and it saves on us having to go over there and drop her off. :) It is very weird sitting at home without a little toddler running around. She has been really jibber jabbin lately - making all kinds of new sounds. And she has started a new laugh that is quite cute I must say. Well, that's all for now.....

Hooray!!!

2008-06-25T20:57:00.002-05:00

This morning when I took Natali to day care she didn't cry when I dropped her off!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yesterday Josh took her and he said she wimpered a little but didn't go in to a full cry or screaming as she has every time previous to now. We are so happy that she (I guess) is getting used to the day care. She actually let me set her down and she started playing on the floor! She pointed at me and waved bye bye as I walked out the door. :) It just made my day. Natali is still usually fussy when we pick her up - the workers say that when other parents come to pick up kiddos, she gets fussy and points to the door. But overally they say she is doing good.

Natali knows where her belly is now. I asked her last night "Natali, where is your belly?" and she pointed to it! We haven't even been working on that unless maybe one of the grandparents have been and we don't know it. :) She also knows where a nose is on other people, but she hasn't quite figured out when we ask her where her nose is.

The other day, I stopped Natali from doing something or took a toy from her. Anyways, I picked her up and she bit me!!! Yes, she bit me. I scolded her but not a few seconds after, she did it again!! So I got on her more. She kind of gave me the "I want to do it again but I see that look on your face so maybe I won't" look. This child has a mind of her own let me tell you. But at the same time, she is so sweet and getting better at coming back to us when we ask her to. We just love her so much!!!

Goings on......

2008-06-21T20:56:00.003-05:00

I know there haven't been many pictures lately so here are a couple in the PJ outfit my sister got Natali when she visited a while back.

Well, Natali has added a couple more things to her "can do" list. She just started walking backwards. She goes very slow and carefully, but she does it for a little while. Also if you ask her what the cow says, she will make this cute noise kind of like Mooo but more like a buzzing sound I guess.

I don't know if I already wrote about this, but Natali is cutting her molars and they seem to be coming up really fast. It seemed like the front teeth took a long time from when they first showed through to when they came through a lot and looked like teeth. (Does that make sense?) Anyways, she is drooling a lot more and putting more things in her mouth.

Update on the ear infection/sickness... I am feeling good but still have a little sore throat and cough. Natali however still has the 2 ear infections. We took her back to the doctor yesterday because she was still pulling at her ears some so I wanted to make sure they were healed or not. NOT. Doctor Roberts looked in there and said "yup, there is still pus in there". Needless to say, we are on our 3rd antibiotic and we will have a recheck in 2 weeks. She said we are a ways yet from Natali needing tubes in her ears or anything like that, so that made me happy.

Update

2008-06-15T15:21:00.002-05:00

Well, Natali and momma are feeling better neither is all the way well yet though. I just have this cought that is hanging on. Natali finally doesn't have a fever but she is still holding her ears sometimes and shakes her head. I am going to call the doctor tomorrow and see if Natali needs to be checked out again.

I will try to put some pictures up on here soon, I know everyone likes to see the cute stuff!! :)

Natali is walking so well now - she can keep her hands down. Also, now she can bend down while standing and stand back up without falling or holding on to something. AND she can stand up from sitting down without any help. Josh and I constantly look at each other and say "She's so big!!". She is working on 14 months. Well, that's all for now..... hopefully the sickie crud will go away totally soon. Thanks for those of you who were praying for us!!!

Sickies

2008-06-08T08:59:00.002-05:00

So Natali is sick... we took her to the doctor on Friday because she had a fever Thursday night. Actually we saw the nurse practitioner and she was just fine. Natali has 2 ear infections along with the virus that is causing the runny nose and coughing. So to fight the secondary bacterial infection, she is now taking Amoxicillin which we have to mix with applesauce in order for her to take it. :) Needless to say, Natali didn't go to daycare Thursday or Friday - we are hoping to start her back Monday.
However... we are at home right now instead of at church because Natali's fever is back this morning and I don't feel good with a sore throat and stuffy nose. Good times. Daddy went to church because we are responsible to help with the sound board since there really isn't anyone else who knows how to run it.
What a week/weekend. I am worn out and we still have one more day left and then the next week starts. But all in all God is good. I am thankful we haven 't had to take Natali to the hospital yet because when my sister and I were little, we had lots of ear infections and some of them required a hospital trip! Natali is in her crib and it seems as though she might have fallen asleep so I am off to nap myself! I just hope Josh isn't the next one on the sickie list.

Day care - this is kind of long - Beware!

2008-06-04T21:09:00.002-05:00

Yes, we started Natali in day care this week. We figured it was time because I work full time and Josh will be going back to work soon so day care was inevitable (sp?).

Day 1: The first day we walked in the room and Natali was the only kid since we got there early. She pointed at everything and was very happy to get down and explore all the new things and toys. She didn't cry when we left either so we thought we had it made in the shade! Well, I called to check on her at lunch time and they said she had been crying on and off, didn't eat much at lunch time (NOT a Natali thing), but they only had to sit with her a few minutes to get her down for her nap. I was worried about that - that she would cry and keep all the other kids from sleeping. Anyways, Josh picked her up around 4:30 and Natali wasn't really herself for a few hours. She was just really quiet and you could tell she had been crying. She got more happy and talkative later in the night and went to bed at normal time. End Day 1 of day care.

Day 2 : Josh took her and they got there during morning snack time. The kids sit in those cool tables that have 6 little seats in them so all the kids sit at once. :) Well, I guess Josh gave Natali to the lady but Natali had a death grip on Josh's shirt and starting crying really bad. Josh said it was really hard to leave her because she was screaming so bad. But he did and he picked her up again at 4:30. She did better this day and ate better so that was good.

Day3: I took Natali this morning and the same thing - screaming when she saw me leaving. So I stayed for just a minute and stood by her seat in the table while she started a snack and she was fine. She seemed okay so I started to leave and the screaming started again. I just left though ( SO hard to do when she has her arms out to you crying). She did okay today too, although she didn't eat all the much for lunch, but ate her afternoon snack plus some. :)

Overall, the day care workers say she is doing well for her first days/week. Natali does have a snotty nose already but who knows if it really came from there. However, when Natali went in her seat this morning the boy next to her had snot running from his nose. Sigh. But we like this day care - they give you a "report card" every day she is there and it tells you what kind of diapers she had and for each snack/meal they have the option Some Most Everything Seconds
and they circle what she did for each one. Cool I thought. And they put on there how long she slept for each nap (they get 2).
So, after all that boring nonesense, this is a big change in our lives and I have been very emotional this week. Our girl is growing up! Someone laughed at me at work because this is just day care - not even her first day of real school but she's my little girl! :) I just hope it gets better and she will like to go to day care.

First day in the pool

2008-05-30T14:15:00.004-05:00

Natali got a baby pool from my parents for her birthday and the first time we used it was Monday. The water was pretty cold I thought but Natali didn't seem to care. She really liked pointing at the animals on the pool and splashing in the water. It was cute to see our big girl in her little kiddy pool.

First steps in the pool..... not too sure what to think....

Ok, I think I will sit down and see about this pool....

Fish!!!!!

Momma time... she wanted to walk and I didn't want her to fall in the water face first...

Our little pool girl. And actually it was me and my mom - Josh was out fishing with both grandpas for Memorial Day. We had fun and hopefully there will be more pool days!

Natali's bath mohawk

2008-05-27T21:01:00.002-05:00

Cool huh? :)

Playing outside

2008-05-25T21:55:00.004-05:00

Natali loves to go outside. Unfortunately, it is getting very hot here in Longview and we have lots of mosquitos in the back yard. So, we don't like to take her out much. She always points outside and gets excited because she wants to go. Anyways. Here are a few cute pics of her playing one day last week with some new toys.

Just for an update on Natali......... She is walking around like crazy - she rarely asks for our hands to hold on to while she walks. A couple times she has gone from sitting on the floor to standing up without holding on to anything! Natali is working on saying "ball", when you ask her to say "fish" she says "ish", she says "mama" and "dada", she just started saying "no" - she walks around and says "no"... "no"..... "no"(it's pretty funny), and "yes" is "ssss". That's all I can think of right now.

And boy does she see cats! If there is a cat on the TV, a book, her clothes, anything - she makes the "meow" noise. It blows me away how she know what a cat is/looks like. We were in the cat litter isle at WalMart today and she was pointing at the litter/food and going "meow". It is seriously amazing.

Natali will be starting daycare on June 2nd!!! We were very lucky to get in to a place very near to our house and on the way to work for me. They are open from 6:30am to 6:00pm so it shouldn't be a problem to get her there before work and pick her up after. It seems like a nice place so I hope it works out for Natali (and us).

That's it for now... got to get to bed. Happy Memorial Day to everyone!

Walking, walking, walking......

2008-05-19T20:30:00.004-05:00

You have got to see this video of Natali walking!! I can't believe the progress she has made even in the last week.

The Caldwell Zoo pictures

2008-05-17T20:57:00.002-05:00

At the Caldwell Zoo they have a bird walk-a-bout where you can buy these popscicle sticks with birdseed on them and feed the little budgies(parakeets) and cockatiels. Unfortunately when we went there were a TON of children there so most of the birds were staying up in their tree. :) But one birdie came down and I put my stick out to it and they step on your stick to eat the birdseed. Then I brought it over towards Natali and she liked it.

We saw the tigers which is one of my favorite parts.

I thought this was a cute picture of my mom and grandma walking with Natali. :)

We ate lunch at the zoo's cafe and Natali ate the lunch I brought for her. She was being real funny and laughing and stuff and she just happened to make this funny face when I took the picture.

So that is a summary of the zoo trip which was a week ago. :) I just haven't gotten on the computer much in the last week.

Happy Mother's Day!

2008-05-11T22:03:00.004-05:00

(Josh's mom, Natali, me, and Daddy)

It was a pretty good Mother's Day around here. We went to church, got some Chicken Express (my momma day lunch), came home, Natali fell asleep on the way home and slept for 2 1/2 hours, we played a video game, Natali woke up, Josh watched Natali so momma could take a nap, then we went to small groups, delivered a card to my mom, came home, did computer stuff, and went to bed. :) What a day!!! Hope everyone had a great Mother's Day!!!

P.S. Last year today we were coming home from our second trip to the hospital. I was so happy to be able to leave the hospital and celebrate part of the day at home. :) Thank you Lord!

Great Grandma (GiGi) visits!

2008-05-10T21:11:00.005-05:00

My grandma came in to town Thursday from Florida for a visit and goes home tomorrow morning. Of course, when Grandmas come they bring gifts, so Natali got a cute kitty from GiGi. We have had a great time with her! We went to Tyler on Friday and went to the Rose Garden and then to the Caldwell Zoo. Other than being a little warm, we had a wonderful time.

The roses were beautiful! This was one of the biggest blooms we saw!

I will have to post the zoo pictures another time..... if anyone hasn't been to the Tyler Rose Garden when it is in bloom, you are missing out!!!!

So....

2008-05-06T20:51:00.003-05:00

I forgot I was going to post some pictures from 1 year ago of Natali...... I always like to go back to these. Plus I am working on finishing her first year scrapbook so I get to go over all her old photos.

It is pretty hard to remember her being that small. I do remember wrapping her up so tight in her burrito to keep her warm. I look at her now and wonder how in the world she got to be so big! I mean, she is walking some now, feeds herself (somewhat), drinks out of a sippy cup, has grown into a new carseat, jibber jabbers a lot, communicates when she wants something, and can communicate with the cat. : ) It amazes me how much a child learns in 1 year and how much a momma can learn in 1 year. What a time this has been!!! Lot of ups and downs. We love our little girl so much!!!

TTFN

Taking a few more steps....

2008-05-05T20:56:00.002-05:00

We took this video tonight. Natali is really wanting to do this walking business. She is better at standing there, getting her own balance, and then starting to take steps. It is so cute. :) She gets really excited when she is about to take a step. The first time in this video isn't as good as the second time. Enjoy!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NATALI!!! 1 YEAR OLD!!!!!!!

2008-04-27T21:16:00.004-05:00

All the goodies

Balloons from Aunt Rebecca

This is her cake that I made - chocolate cake with vanilla icing in the middle and strawberry icing on top. I made 2 round cakes and layered them and then cut out the flower shape.

Natali kept wanting me to wipe her fingers off after she got icing on them. : ) So funny. Needless to say, she didn't just dive into her "Smash cake". But I cut her a piece and then she got a little more interested.

She even tried some and liked it!

It was a lot of fun. The smash cake was bought by Aunt Becky.

Aunt Barbara (my dad's sister) got Natali some fairy wings and so we tried them on Natali. Unfortunately she started crying so we had to take them off pretty quick.

First things first...... Natali took her first step today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! After some of the people left, I had her walking with me but towards Rebecca and she got really excited and on the way let go of my hands and kept going to Rebecca! It happened so fast we were like.. "Did she just take a step?" So we tried it again and sure enough, she did the same thing. We all cheered and clapped for her. Then she got happy and started laughing too. I have a video of her another time so I will try to get that on here tomorrow. So much to write about and so many pictures and things to share.

I might have more pictures later because some were taken on other people's cameras. We had 17 people here including our family!! It was maybe a little much for Natali at first, but she had fun and we did too. We started with cake and ice cream, then presents, and having some fun. Natali got lots of cool gifts! Some clothes, sandals, toys, and a really cool car thing from Aunt Jenny and Uncle Christian (I will have to put a picture up on here - it is so cool!) Natali got pretty sleepy but did okay and was a trooper through it all.

It has been a crazy first year of parenthood and we have learned and experienced many things since Natali was born (including the birth). : 0 ) Won't ever forget that. But anyways. We had a wonderful day today and look forward to what the next year will bring to our family.

Just some photos.... write more later

2008-04-22T21:56:00.001-05:00

Natali and her blocks

2008-04-17T19:15:00.003-05:00

Jenny and Christian gave Natali some really neat blocks and we got them out last week for her to play with. She likes to take them out of the bag and look at them. If we stack them, she loves to knock them down. We haven't gotten her to stack any herself yet but I suppose that takes time.

Go Natali!!!

2008-04-12T18:58:00.003-05:00

So Natali has started to walk with help!! She really likes to do it and goes pretty fast sometimes. It is pretty cute and exciting. Here is a video.

Give momma a kiss!!

2008-04-06T20:00:00.002-05:00

Natali has started giving kisses to people and things. :) She started by "kissing" her stuffed animals by leaning forward and pressing her lips on them. She doesn't do it all the time but if you say "Natali give momma a kiss" she'll lean forward to your face. It is so cute!! She does it to other people - not just momma but I especially like it when she kisses me. Here is a pic of Natali giving a kiss.

Just me and Natali

2008-04-01T07:01:00.002-05:00

So I have noticed we do not have very many pictures of either one of us and Natali. Most of the pictures are of just Natali. :) So here is a random picture of me and Natali last Sunday.

2008-03-31T18:54:00.002-05:00

Here is Natali feeding herself!! She just started doing this about a week ago. This video is from the beginning when she just started to feed herself so we were very happy when she actually got something in her mouth! :) She is much faster now and she loves Cherrios!

Cute stuff

2008-03-31T07:11:00.003-05:00

Here are a few photos of Natali in this little overall set and some cute shoes. It is fun now that she fits better into shoes and she just seems cuter in clothes when she can stand. :) (I know it sounds weird) She looks so much more like a little person!

Little Mermaid car thing

2008-03-26T19:44:00.004-05:00

So here are the pictures of the car I was talking about in a previous blog. It sings and plays differents sounds and stuff. We put Natali on it and push her around the house which she seems to really like!

She loves to press the horn!!

I know this is blurry, but this is Natali crawling over her new toy. Yes, over! I thought she would get stuck, but she got right over. :) Silly silly girl. She has done this a few more times since then.

The picture of Natali's hand on the Mermaid is her trying to stop it from moving. (at least I guess that is what she's doing) When the music starts, the Mermaid starts moving and Natali always puts her hand on there. It is really funny.