Learning - Updated

Apologies for the lack of pictures :-) We will post some soon.

Highlights of the week:

Natalie's new words -
-"uh oh!"
-paci
-goat
-go bye bye
-all done
-she now says "mommy" instead of mama, and "daddy" instead of dada.

In another fun development, Natalie was given a Rody for her birthday from our friends in Massachusetts. She really likes it, and now has decided that everything should be a ride-on toy. Including mommy, daddy, her tractor, her walker, and her fisher price farm (she sits between the silo and the actual barn - probably wondering why it won't GO). Mom is going to head to Target tomorrow at lunch to buy her an actual ride-on tomorrow! Dad's out of town this week, so it will be a loooong one for us, and we need some amusement.

Seven Things People Don't Necessarily Know About Natalie

We got tagged by our friend Olen - now we have to tell everyone seven things that people don't know about me.

Hmm, this is hard!

1. I really hate the vacuum cleaner at home… Mom normally has to take me for a walk while Dad vacuums, or else I will cry and cry! However – I DO NOT MIND the vacuum cleaner at daycare. They vacuum every day and I never cry even a little bit there.

2. I am a very excellent eater. Yesterday I ate twice as much grilled cheese as any other child at daycare, including kids twice my age.

3. I am very ticklish around the neck.

4. My favorite animal at the zoo seems to be the giraffe. The last time we went to the zoo, they were very frisky – one was even running around the exhibit. I was totally enthralled! My favorite non-zoo animal seems to be the ‘dog-dog’, though I get really excited every morning the first time I see my cat Reese.

5. I have been to (or through) six states so far: California, Oregon, Washington, Michigan, Illinois, and Indiana.

6. In the morning I generally wake up as soon as I hear mom & dad’s alarm clock go off. I talk and chatter in my room for ½ hour until they are all ready for work, and then they come get me. Every morning, they say “are you awake?” and I laugh and smile at them. Then I spend the next ½ hour drinking my morning bottle, walking around the house inspecting it for any changes since the night before, getting a diaper change, and getting ready to go to daycare.

7. Yesterday mom said “Natalie, are you the best baby in the entire world?” and I said “YES”. Who knows if I know what “yes” means, but I sure said it at the appropriate time!

Now I'm supposed to tag other people so they tell us seven new things about themselves. I for sure want to make sure Connor Foy tells us seven new things about himself, as he's just turned 1 year old and I'm sure he has a host of secrets up his sleeve. If anyone else wants to play along please feel free!

Happy Happy Halloween!

At Natalie's daycare Halloween party.

She definitely didn't get the concept of a party - that I was there to *hang out* with her... from the second I walked through the door, she clung to me to make absolutely certain that I wasn't leaving! I couldn't put her down for a second! Finally once her dad arrived an hour and a half later, she finally understood that we weren't going to leave her there, and she started to enjoy herself a little bit.

Her toy of choice, a fake potato chip.

She did win second prize in the costume contest though - which was highly lucrative for mom and dad - 1/2 day free at daycare! Yah! As Tyler pointed out, this more than paid for her costume, so we feel vindicated that we spent money on it.

Videos edited and posted later.

Belated Weekend Pictures

On Saturday 10/18, Natalie and I did a 5 mile walk for the American Cancer Society - Making Strides for Breast Cancer. We had an absoutely fabulous time! Here we are before the walk began.
And here we are along the walk route. This is actually quite close to our house (just two blocks north). Initially our plan was for me to walk the first half with Natalie, then have Tyler meet me to take her home at about this spot. But she and I were having too good of a time together to let the walk end, so we trudged on.
And eventually got to the finish! Here is Natalie getting ready to cross her very first finish line.
And afterwards. That whole crowd of supporters yelled and cheered for us, and we had to walk through a "people tunnel", and she wasn't altogether thrilled about that. Hence the disgruntled look on her face.
And here's Natalie on Sunday doing crafts at the dining room table with Mom. It was adorable! She was tugging at her booster seat as though to say "please, mom, let me up!" so I did, and we sat together at the table for at least ten minutes before she got bored and had to go walk around the house with Dad.
Natalie's new achievements for the week: "Hi!" and "Bye Bye!" And her walk has started to turn into a wobbly run. *sigh* We fear that a big spill is not far away.

Pumpkin Patch - Avoiding the Blue Angels (reprise)

Last year, we lived in a different (louder) neighborhood, and avoiding the Blue Angels was a full-time job during the second week of October. We went north to see our friends and had a great time with our then seven-week-old baby!

This year, we live off San Francisco's beaten path. Near the ocean the noise of the Blue Angels isn't nearly so loud - thank goodness for that - but we still went South anyway to avoid the crowds.

Here's Natalie at lunch, at the Half Moon Bay Brewing Company - one of our favorite spots. Walking is such an all-consuming passion that she isn't the most, um, refined lunch guest but we made it through.

Afterwards we went to a fabulous pumpkin patch! She had such a grand time climbing over all the pumpkins and riding in the wagon. The only problem with the pumpkin patch was that it was so fun, she didn't want to leave :-)
They even had a tractor and a teepee!

Yesterday I took Natalie to Ocean Beach to play in the sand and sun. I could tell that she had a great time - while it was tough for her to walk in the sand without a helping hand, at least it didn't hurt when she took a tumble. Let's just say she ended up with sand in every possible nook and cranny - ears, eyelids, diaper... the works.

Today I had to take the day off from work because her daycare was closed. Tragic (not really)! We had breakfast with some friends from our Mom/Baby group. We're also considering a trip to the new California Academy of Sciences later! Fun!

Happy Birthday, Gramma Nance!

I have been getting rid of a cold lately so the picture isn't my finest, but you get the point. :-)

Proof of Natalie's Political Leanings

Here, Tyler captured proof that Natalie always chooses the Clinton books off of our shelf. Now, you may think that she is choosing the Clinton books because they are closest to the end of the row... but in fact, the reason they are closest is that we have to put *just those two* books back five times a day.

Note how she judiciously skips over The World Is Flat. Mom couldn't get through that one either, Natalie!