Explorer Natalie!

Last weekend we visited with one of Mommy and Daddy's friends from college. Randy was back in Ohio for a visit after moving to Hong Kong for work. We met Randy at the Columbus Zoo and did some exploring.

If you have never been to the Columbus Zoo I highly recommend it. There are lot of unique things to see. One of our favorite sections is Australia. You can walk through the kangaroo exhibit and sometimes the kangaroos will hop right across the path in front of you. During our visit this time they were mostly lounging around.
They also have koala bears! Did you know koala bears can sleep up to 22 hours a day? We caught this guy while he was awake!
Here's Randy! Thanks for bringing me some Hong Kong money for my piggy bank!

I recently found some of Daddy's old binoculars. They were perfect for exploring the zoo.

"What's over here?"

"Oh, it's an orangutan just hanging out! "

We also enjoyed the little boat ride through the Asia and Islands section of the zoo. It is nice and relaxing and cool!

Making use of the binoculars again!

One of the last things we did at the zoo was stop by and see the gorillas. There are about fifteen gorillas at the Columbus Zoo. This little girl was the star of our visit. She is 9 months old.

She lives with her Mom, Dad, and Aunt. Here she is trying to get one of her relatives to play with her. They weren't interested. Another interesting fact, the Columbus Zoo has four generations of gorillas. This little girl's great grandmother was in the enclosure across the way.

While we visited the gorillas we got caught in what I call a "happy rain." And we made our way towards the exit. We stopped by the elephants on the way out. One of the elephants we saw was about two years old!

It was a great adventure at the Columbus Zoo and I can't wait to go back!

Indy Children's Museum

Before Mommy started back to work she and I accompanied Grandma to the Cramer's for a couple of days. During our stay we visited the Children's Museum of Indianapolis. I enjoyed spending the day with just Grandma and Mommy.

It was a lot of fun exploring the museum. Here I am making ice cream sundae's for Grandma and Mom.
I helped Mommy build this arch. Mom built one side while I worked on the other. As we got to the top Grandma held up the sides until we put in the last piece.
The museum had a special Barbie exhibit. Here I am walking the runway. I also took my turn as a fashion photographer, and even a designer.
The last thing we did was stop by the special Dora exhibit. And I got a quick picture with Dora and Boots.

Big Girl!

Natalie is getting to be such a big girl. Last week she asked me to paint her nails. (I think it may have been her cousins' influence.) She was very patient during the whole process, sitting still while I painted them and waiting patiently for them to dry. And now that I have painted them a couple of times, she has definite ideas about how they should. Tonight she told me she wants every other nail to be sparkly, and the other red. (Again I think that is her cousins.) Either way something tells me that next time we are at the store, be spending time looking at the various nail colors.

This past weekend also brought a couple of more "firsts." On Sunday, we went out for brunch to celebrate Father's Day. I reviewed the menu with Natalie and asked her what she wanted to eat. She declared that she wanted to order her own meal. We practiced a couple of times and when the server returned to take our order, she clearly told him that she would like "chocolate chip pancakes and a lemonade, please." She was so pleased with herself, and so are Mom and Dad.

Natalie also decided on Sunday that she was wanted to take a shower instead of a bath. She had mentioned taking a shower earlier in the day, and we just sort of said, yeah someday you will take showers. I guess Sunday was that someday!

She is growing up TOOOOOO fast!!!!!

Easter!

It was another wonderful Easter this year. The Easter bunny made a visit to our house and left me some money and my favorite chocolate treat M&Ms!

Hard at work dying Easter eggs!

Taking inventory!

How does the Easter Bunny know I like to color and paint?

Catching Up!

Well "Hello" everyone, it has been a while since I have updated the blog. Summer has proven to be a busy one so far, and it hasn't even officially started. Mommy and I enjoyed some quality time together while she was off work. We went to story time, had play dates, and other adventures. Now she is back to work and I am spending the summer with Aunt Debbie, Maria, Sarah, and Uncle Bob.

Since there is so much to catch up on, I first wanted to show you some more pictures from my Green Bay Packers birthday party.

Chillaxing in my new chair before the party!

I am checking out the cake Mommy made for my party. It's a giant cheese wheel and it had a yellow and green checkerboard in the center.

Time for presents!