7.30.2010

Is This MY Kid?

Last night while helping Byron make pizzas I was holding Natalie and she pointed to a tomato on the counter. So I handed it to her to see what she would do. Without hesitation she took a big ole' bite out of the center like it was an apple. It makes me gag just thinking about it. Because anyone who knows me, knows I HATE tomatoes unless it's in the form of ketchup. Heck Byron doesn't even like them, but we had bought one for Dad and Nathan to eat with their taco pizza.

I guess we can add tomatoes to the list of foods Nat likes to eat. Too bad she won't get any unless she's home with the grandparents. YUCK!

7.27.2010

No, No

Byron sent this to me today while Natalie was having lunch. He said he doesn't know what she was saying but he was getting an earful between bites. Sorry for the quality it was taken on his iPhone and the lighting there in the kitchen is not the best.
"Nah, Nah"


And while we are thinking about it, Happy Birthday Angie!! Miss and Love you.

7.25.2010

Is it Thursday Yet?

Because it can't get here fast enough. Grammie and Big Daddy are coming down and Byron and I need reinforcements. Natalie is once again cutting FOUR teeth (her canines) and Oh-My-Gosh she is trying our patience. I really do feel bad for her though. She'a tried to bite the couch, her stroller, foam letters and even the dogs. Her poor hands were red from Kool-Aid Friday because she was chewing on them so bad. So needless to say she spent most of her weekend on Ibuprofen, Orajel and teething tablets, with the occasional popsicle thrown in.

Really the only way to get her mind off of it is with distraction which is usually where the pool comes in (see yesterdays post) but it's been rainy AGAIN!! I mean really, it's July in Mississippi, we never get rain this late in the year. Our yard's usually been dead for a month now.

Anyways, we got out an old favorite yesterday...her rainbow tunnel. She kinda likes to roll around in it from one end to the other.



7.24.2010

Another Dip in the Pool

We managed to squeeze in an hour or so of pool time in between the rain. As always Nat enjoyed every bit of it.
Right before she dumped half the bucket on her head.




The end of pool time and in desperate need of a nap.

Pickin Peppers

We decided Saturday to pick are two lonely peppers off our habanero plant. Natalie got to do the honors for us. Byron used to them to make some really yummy wings.


The end result. DELICIOUS!!!

7.19.2010

Rain Rain Go Away

Natalie and I are running out of things to do inside. It has rained on and off since we got home from the Zoo on Saturday. Talk about cabin fever. In a last ditch effort to find something to do with Natalie we dug out the finger paints.

Let the fun begin! She started out all dainty like, dipping one finger in at a time. Keep scrolling and you will how long that lasted.

Trying out new hair colors.




Yes it was messy. Yes it all came out of her hair. Now I have a priceless work of art to hang in my office forever.

Change is Good

Some of you (Amy, Mom, Joe and Nan) who read the blog on a regular basis may notice some changes as of today. The new trend seems to be a more modern design with bigger pictures and even collages. Well I'm jumping on the band wagon and in return you all get larger than life pictures of Natalie.

So bare with me while I change my backgrounds, headers and some of the code to make all of this happen because I'm learning as I go.

7.18.2010

Going on an Ice Cream Safari

Saturday our little family headed out to the Jackson Zoo for their 16th Annual Ice Cream Safari. We got there around 10 to actually walk through the zoo. Natalie seemed to recognize more animals this time. She loved the monkeys, giraffes, elephants and black bear, but man was it hot. It was overcast most of the morning but the humidity was almost unbearable. Luckily the tasting started at 11.

Byron's favorite exhibit, the Orangutans.

Daddy's little monkeys :)



The flamingos put on a show for us. You could have reached out and touched them they got so close. Natalie wasn't to sure about them. They made funny noises that made her jump.


Time for the best part. We got to taste 16 different Blue Bell flavors that ranged from Turtle Cheesecake, Gator Crunch, ZooBerry to homemade Strawberry, Banana Pudding, and Butter Pecan, all scooped by local radio/TV personalities. Natalie wasn't fast enough to actually taste each booth, she averaged about every other one. I can't say what her favorite was but I can definitely tell you, without a doubt, she HATED the mango sherbet. I really wanted to try it so I got both of us a sample. She took one bite and immediately held it up for Byron to take it :) I guess she's more of a chocolate fan.

7.14.2010

Lazy Summer Afternoons

This is how Natalie and I have been spending our afternoons during the week. I can barely get in the door after work before she's grabbing my hand and pulling me towards the door. So after a quick change we head outside, spread out a sheet and stair up at the clouds, birds, planes or whatever else may be flying through the sky. We "discuss" our day and if I'm lucky I'll get a few kisses and hugs.

After that gets boring she'll go grab a planter with dirt in it and start digging and transferring the dirt from point A to point B. Of course after that she needs a good hosing off before we go in. Which I think she totally plans on :)

Luckily, for me, our backyard is shaded in the evenings and there's been a slight breeze lately. Natalie literally stays out there until she's so hot (even with a bottle of water by her side) her cheeks are rosy. So we drag out the hose, water the plants and clean up before heading inside to cool off and have dinner with Byron.




7.07.2010

It's My Birthday!


I just thought I'd share what I came home to last night. Natalie and Byron had decorated the back porch with sidewalk chalk. Byron would just like to note that Nat was determined to sign her name at top not the bottom like he asked her too...LOL That's her scratchings up at the top there in case you can't tell. He also made me some yummy potato soup, got me a funny card and a new purse. Thanks to everyone who's sent cards, called me and posted messages on Facebook.

7.06.2010

Just Because I Can

Sometimes I just like to get the camera out and take some pics of my babies (furry and non). I don't need a reason and depending on Nat's mood, I can get some really great shots. Besides that's why everyone comes to this blog...to see pics of Natalie. So here ya go.

Goldfish are one Nat's favorite snacks and apparently, Mulligan's too. Notice in the majority of these he's going for the snack cup, especially if she's not looking.

"Gosh Mom, stop with the camera already!"

Going in for the steal...to bad there's a lid on it.

This is another way Nat torments Mulligan. She'll hold one little goldfish in her hand really tight, stick it in front of him and just laugh her head off when he tries to get it from her. The more he licks her fist the more she giggles.

Happy 4th

Even though Sunday was a holiday we didn't do to much out of the ordinary. Byron smoked a Boston Butt on the Green Egg and Nat and I got out to buy some small fireworks for her. Just the usual (sparklers, smoke bombs, snap and pops) and those little things that you pull and confetti pops out. Those might have been her favorite.

She loved putting it on Mulligan's head and unraveling any of the string that didn't come apart. She couldn't throw the snap and pops hard enough to make them go off, but Byron could and he tormented the dogs with them :) She didn't stay up late enough to do the sparklers at night so we still have a few left over for a rainy day. And she was amazed when the smoke bombs went off and the color floated up into the air.
She didn't understand why she couldn't touch it, and soon lost interest.

These were taken that morning. This is Natalie's new game she plays with the dogs. She takes their favorite toy and runs with it. When they lose interest she teases them with it until they start playing tug-o-war. Now our dogs outweigh her by a good 40lbs so there's not much tugging until Bogey gets free with it. At which point Natalie raises that little finger and starts saying "No, No", but of course it sounds more like "Nah, Nah" in her little southern twang. They drop the toy and the whole game starts again.

She also caught me painting my toes that morning. And she wanted in on the action. At first she would come up and put her foot next to mine. When I started to get close with the polish she would run off giggling. She finally sat down next to me and was perfectly still the whole time.

Modeling O•P•I's The Thrill of Brazil

Just like Mommy

Lazy Saturday

Saturday we didn't to much. Natalie took another marathon nap (4 hours) after being out late the night before. So we just hung out at the house except to go grocery shopping. Of course she took her usual swim, aggravated the dogs and entertained us all day.

Trying to swat a fly, that's not even there. I guess she thought she could use a little help from the man upstairs, hence the rosary around her neck. LOL

Bath time - one of her favorites until you try and wash her hair.

And this is her trying to make that "Home Alone" face. You know where the boy throws his hands up around his cheeks and screams. This is one of Byron's favorite movies and he's been teaching her this.