Christmas Decorations

Natalie spent the night with my mother-in-law on Saturday night, so Steve and I went to get a Christmas tree and I decided to try to get the decorations out while she wasn't home. We decorated the Christmas tree and I put a little one in her room as well, along with some other assorted decorations throughout the house. She was so excited when she got home..she kept saying "Ooh, look at this." After she saw the tree in her room, she kept asking to find more Christmas trees...I guess she thought we should have one in every room of the house! So for the rest of the night, she would say "Let me show you something" and proceed to lead you to the Christmas tree in her room. It was fun to see her so excited!

Belle's Thanksgiving Feast

For our Thanksgiving dinner, my Aunt Ruthie brought over this beautiful cornucopia made of bread that is used to put rolls in...very festive and it can be stored and used for several years. I wrapped it up and set it on my dining room table. We left for a little while and came back to Belle's Thanksgiving feast... You can see it there on the table before and then...

What's left of it...sorry Aunt Ruthie...I really did hope to keep it for next year!!

The Day After Thanksgiving

This was the second (and thankfully the last) Thanksgiving for us this year. We had a big crowd with 3 out of the 4 sets of our parents as well as my brother and his fiancee, my step brother and sister and my Aunt Ruthie. It was a little more like Christmas for Natalie...she got a Mr. Potato Head from my father-in-law and a bag full of treats from my mom. She had a lot of fun things to do!!

Natalie playing with Papa and her new Mr. Potato Head.

MeMe, Paw Paw and my step sister and brother.

Phoebe and Natalie
MeMe and Aunt Ruthie playing with Natalie and the stickers that MeMe brought her.

My brother Teddy, and his fiancee Una
Natalie had a great time playing outside with my step sister Lisa and her dog Auto.

It was pretty chilly outside and Natalie loves to get on her boots and hat.

Natalie relaxing in her chair after a long day having a cookie...tough life!

Thanksgiving Day

We had a good time on Thanksgiving Day. We woke up and had a lazy morning...tried to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, but Natalie wasn't too interested in that. We went to my sister-in-law's house about noon and had a big dinner with her family, my brother-in-law's family and my mother-in-law. We were tired and stuffed when we got back home!

Natalie giving Daddy a kiss on the head.

Natalie trying not to let Daddy get a little nap in.

We have a little massage chair in our room and it always cracks us up when Natalie says that she wants to go get a massage.

Natalie with her cousins Sara, Drew & Matt

Natalie was playing with some of Matthew's dinosaurs while the big kids played Wii

Natalie snacking on crackers with Sara

The dinner table (notice Natalie in the corner sitting with Matthew)

Natalie wanted to sit with Matt at the dinner table...and Matt is such a good sport about it!

A little game of hold em after dinner. Steve did end up winning, however my 15 niece Sara gave him a run for his money (I was kicked out by my 10 year old nephew Matthew)!!

We had a great Thanksgiving Day and still have one more celebration with my family to look forward to!

Thanksgiving Feast

Natalie had a Thanksgiving Feast at her little school today. They had so much food and all of them had a great time.

Natalie the little pilgrim

The placemat that Natalie painted and the cutest little napkin ring holders that my friend Dawn made.

Time for the feast!!

A few of the little girls in Natalie's class

The Christmas Tree Lighting

A few of the kids from Natalie's class got together to eat pizza before the big Christmas Tree Lighting...it's always an adventure to try to get 2 year olds to sit down and eat!

Natalie with Rafe and Bryce and the pizza place.

Some of the kids who came to the Christmas Tree lighting.

The BIG Christmas Tree (we didn't quite make it to the lighting part, but I'm sure we'll get back to see it soon).

Here we are with our new neighbors, Rachael, Kylie and Makayla...we are SO excited to finally have some kids on our street for Natalie to play with!!

They had a band there singing Christmas songs. Most of the kids were out dancing around and Natalie didn't seem to want any part of that...which is a little weird for her, but she was getting pretty tired!

Playing Around

As usual, I am a little behind on the blogging. These are some pictures from last weekend...

Natalie loves to play in the car...we have to make her get out.

We went to see our nephew, Matt, play flag football. She had fun cheering for him.

Natalie loves to hang out with Matt...I really like this picture.

After Matt's game, we went to Build-A-Bear for a little team party...Natalie couldn't stay out of the heart bin.

Natalie trying to steal a drink from her friend Rafe.

Natalie and Daddy playing Play-doh...something we do at least every few days...sometimes everyday!

Beanie Babies

I collected Beanie Babies when they were so popular way back when. On several occasions I considered getting rid of them as I just stored them for many years. I am glad I didn't because Natalie loves to play with them.

Happy Halloween!

Natalie was Minnie Mouse for Halloween. I was just sure that she wasn't going to wear the costume or the ears but to my surprise she put them on and seemed to really enjoy looking like Minnie Mouse. She had a little Halloween Party at her school with a parade and all. We did go trick or treating, but she wasn't feeling that great, so we only went to a few houses...she loved getting the candy in her bag though! She is still asking to have candy everyday!

FINALLY Riding the Bike!

Uncle Teddy bought Natalie this bike over a year ago for her first birthday. She has loved to ride it ever since, but can now FINALLY reach the pedals! She is also now okay with the helmet (probably because she knows that is the only way she can ride the bike now). Here are some pictures...