Santa Claus!

Here are pictures from my first visit with Santa Claus. I was excited to see him and tell him what I am wishing for! Me, Mommy, and Daddy want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas! I hop Santa brings everything you wished for too!

Beauty Shop Bliss!

One of my favorite things right now is playing with Mommy's hair and combing my own. I could easily spend hours combing my hair if Mommy would let me. I also enjoy having my hair washed. Last time I went to get a haircut I wasn't quite ready to have my hair washed in the sink. Later I decided the next time I went for a haircut, I was going to have my hair washed at the sink just like Mom and Dad. Now when I play beauty shop with Mom, before I can start fixing her hair, I have to "wash" it first, just like Ms. Heather.

"Ahhhhh, this is nice!"

I even love it when she uses the blow dryer on my hair!

"Float like a butterfly..."

Halloween was very fun again this year. After much debate I decided I wanted to be a butterfly. An added treat was the Halloween party and parade at school.

I enjoyed walking around the neighborhood with Mom and Dad and I was very brave when I walked up and said "trick or treat!"

Showing off my costume!

Ready to head out with Daddy!

Enjoying a little treat!

Future Cast Member?

Today on Mom's way to Pilates, she dropped Dad and I off at the Kenwood Towne Centre. We often do this while Mom is at class. Dad and I explore the mall, visit the Lego store, Build-a-Bear, have a pretzel and just walk around. Recently the Disney store reopened at the mall and we have added that to our routine. Today as we walked past the store one of the cast members came out and asked me if I would like to help them open the store. ABSOLUTELY! One cast member came out carrying the large key, another put it in the lock and I helped turn the key! It was so much fun. They even gave me a smaller version of the key to keep.

Here I am reaching high to turn the key!

My re-enactment of how they brought the key out from back stage!

Kings Island

For years now we have been driving past Kings Island whenever we are heading to Daddy's work or going to Kenwood Mall. This year I especially took notice and have been asking Mommy and Daddy to take me to Kings Island since it opened in the spring. Well a couple of weeks ago I finally got to go! I was so excited to see the fountain and the Eiffel Tower. Our first ride was to the top of the tower so I could see the whole park, and scope out my adventure for the day. All of the rides looked like so much fun! After the Eiffel Tower we made our way to Planet Snoopy.

As soon as we got to the kiddie area Mommy and I got in line for my first roller coaster! It was so much fun that I held my hands up the entire time! I enjoyed it so much that as soon as our turn was over I got right back in line with Dad!

My other favorite rides were the swings, bumper cars, and the Peanuts 500 race track!

My most favorite ride of the day was the Log Flume. I sat in the front of the boat. When we came to the bottom of the hill I got SOAKED!

Sometimes it's nice to take a break from the fast rides and take a relaxing train ride.

I can't wait for Mommy and Daddy to take me back next year!

It was a great day!

County Fair with NJ Knapps

My cousins (and Aunt & Uncle) came in for a visit from New Jersey. During their visit we met at Grandma and Grandpa's house and went to the Mercer County Fair. We had a wonderful time seeing all of the animals, checking out the tractors, and riding the rides.

Here's Amelia and me!

"Amelia, I think you plug the iPod in right here!"

Amelia, Edwinn, and I enjoying the rides!

Daddy's Little Helper

We had a couple of projects around the house recently. Daddy installed a new dishwasher and a ceiling fan and I got to help him with both projects!

Helping dad find the right size socket!

Installing a dishwasher is tough work. I needed a little break. I don't think Dad minded me sitting on his legs.

Dad installed the fan and I helped put the blades on! As I type this I am enjoying a nice breeze in the office.

School Daze!

Hi everyone! I know it has been a while since I have posted, but we have had a busy few weeks. For starters I am now going to pre-school. I started going to All About Kids a couple of weeks ago. We do lots of fun stuff at school. We have water day, bike day, and movie day. Sometimes on Monday we do "show and share" and on Fridays we bring in things from home for our letter bag. Each week we learn about a letter, number, color and shape. It gives me a chance to practice writing. I am starting to make friends with the other kids in my class and I make sure to share toys with them.

Putt Putt

Mom and Dad took me putter golfing for the first time and I loved it! Mom even showed me how to stand like a real golfer!

After a full round of golf Spongebob and I spent some quality time together on the 19th green.

Me and Daddy at the Zoo

Daddy took me to the Zoo when he was on vacation. I started the day by riding a baby rhino. Later on I pet a penguin, a snake, and a turkey! My favorite part was riding the carousel 3 times in a row!


Mmmm, nice cold water! Can you tell I had a great time today?

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!

Thr33!!!

Happy Birthday to me!!!! On Sunday we had the family over to celebrate me turning three. Preparation for the big party started a month ago when I told Mommy I wanted a Packers party. The party was complete with Mommy, Daddy and I wearing Packers gear, everyone else wearing their favorite sports team and even a cheese head cake that was green and yellow inside. It was a great day and I had lots of fun with my cousins. Thank you to everyone for the presents and sharing in my day!