Kiddos Update

Natalie is 3 and 1/2 now and so much fun. She is not "all girl," more like 1/2 princess and 1/2 tomboy. She loves role playing as a princess or a mommy. When she is a princess, she dresses up - naturally - and loves having "teacup" parties and dancing with her Daddy (her "prince" - well, he's actually my prince, but I loan him out). When she is in princess mode, she insists that you call her by her princess name and corrects you if you don't: "No mommy, say thank you, Belle." She also loves playing mommy by putting her doll and animals to bed all over the house. In fact, her new doll is either in a coma or she's a younger Sleeping Beauty because that is all Natalie ever has her do. She gets upset if you are loud around her sleeping "children," though, so this activity can be a bit annoying at times. Okay, so maybe she is 3/4 princess - but not fully because she loves boy things too. She likes playing with toy guns and she loves to play bad guy, monster, and pirates as well. In fact her favorite game to play is "monster game," which involves a great deal of running and screaming.

Natalie officially graduated from nursery and is proud to be a sunbeam. She loves attending primary with the big kids (though you wouldn't know it from this picture...)

In other noteworthy news, Natalie had her first In-N-Out burger (really a "grilled cheese" - a burger without the meat) and to say she enjoyed it would be an understatement. She was literally cheering after each bite. At one point she exclaimed, and I quote, "this is so, so, so, so, yummy!" At another point she got up and hugged me. Wow! I wish she enjoyed my cooking that much. And so I could see how the In-N-Out phenomenon of unnatural love and respect for a fast food chain begins as I witnessed a new fan join the fold.

Henry. Oh, my Henry. What a boy! Henry is practically one year old, and over the last couple weeks, he has become a really proficient walker. His first steps were at 10 months, but it wasn't until recently that he really mastered the skill. Henry loves to be held, and his favorite person is definitely his Nana Joan. He likes my mom better than he likes me, hands down. He is still a pretty good eater (as evidenced by his Chris Farley physique), and he has a very pleasant demeanor. His recent accomplishments include pointing, waving, and the doubling of his vocabulary. He now says, "wow"and "ball," in addition to "mama" and "dada."

Henry loves cars and could be pushed around in this bad boy all day if we had the mind to oblige him.

His love of cars made for excellent behavior during his first haircut a few days ago. Not a single peep out of him the whole time until I removed him from the car/barber chair.

I love my kids- they bring me SO SO SO SO much joy.