Cheeseballs!

Ever since Nattie was a newborn, it was clear that she looked A LOT like her Daddy (remember this...and this?). As she gets older, it is becoming even more obvious through some of her expressions. I've posted before about the silly, cheeseball smile she likes to flash all the time. I didn't realize, until recently, that Mike used to sport the same funny face when he was a little guy. Genetics are so cool! I can hardly wait to see what the new little man will look/act like!

In other news, Nattie turned 18 months old yesterday. A year and a half went really fast! She is such a sweet, funny, and fiesty little addition to our family. She had her check-up at the doctor and she was 32 1/2 inches tall (75th percentile) and 22 lbs 10 oz (25th-50th percentile). Of course, her head was in the 90th percentile. We have big headed kids in this family, which is always fun come delivery time!

She is doing a lot of talking these days and trying to say anything and everything, but many words are still unrecognizable. Her favorite words to say are all the names of family members (Ma ma, Da da, Bun (Ben), Anye (Andy), Papa, Pops, Nana, Ammy (Grammy) and so on!). She is constantly running to the fridge and asking for cheese and muk (milk). She also loves to say baby, ball, bug, and any other b word!

She is so different from her brother...she is already showing an interest in the potty. She often tells us when she has gone potty in her diaper and constantly asks to sit on the big potty. She walks to the bathroom door and says "pee" until you sit her on the potty. She hasn't actually gone yet, but I'm just amazed that she's even interested.

Just this week we moved her crib into our bedroom in preparation for the new baby, so we've moved her (super early I know!) into a big girl bed already. She hated the crib to begin with, so this wasn't that big of a deal. She has done GREAT with the transition the last few nights, so I feel very relieved!

We love our baby girl!

A week in the life...

Monday - Kite flying with Daddy. I've never seen a kite that high in the air!

Tuesday - Nattie got her cast off...she's doing great! :)

Thursday - A new splash park!

Saturday - 500 degrees outside means hanging out inside at Chuck E Cheese and getting ice cream! Can you tell they are happy? :)

Sunday - Licking brownie batter and running around in nothing but a diaper and a beach towel...woo hoo!

Monday (today!) - Going for a short walk on the tow path, feeding the geese, and checking out the wildlife.

I had to throw this one of my little diva in, just because. Doesn't she look sassy?

Finally, here is Benny getting ready for flag football camp this evening. This is the first organized sport we've put him in, so we're hoping he enjoys it...we'll see!

I love summer!

Just call me Ebert...

Mike and I took Benny to see Toy Story 3 tonight (in 3D!). It was so good! I am just in awe of the creative minds that come up with these movies. Ken and Barbie are new to the storyline and I loved the silliness they added to the film (Ken to Barbie: "Nice legwarmers." Barbie to Ken: "Nice ascot."...that line had me laughing for awhile..although it doesn't have quite the same effect here!). Benny really loved the movie and we talked about it the whole drive home. He assured Mike and I that he would ALWAYS love his toys...even when he went to college (like Andy did). It's such a sweet movie and one that just makes you feel good when you leave the theatre. Oh...and for those of you who have seen it, we decided that "Big Baby" reminded us of Nattie (only without the droopy eye). :) We were glad she came to the "good side" in the end!

Anyway, go see it...even if you don't have kids. It was totally worth the $52.50 we spent (outrageous...isn't it?! - 2 adult tickets $26, 1 kids ticket $10.50, popcorn/m&m's/water $16)!!

Here we are tucking Ben into bed after the movie...clearly not the greatest picture of any of us, but I like how happy he is...makes me happy!

In other movie news, we received a mystery package in the mail recently. A VHS tape of the horror movie C.H.U.D, circa 1984. What...you haven't seen this amazing film? Say it isn't so?! HA! We figured out that the mystery sender was none other than Mike's crazy brother, Brad. Apparently, this flick was one that their Uncle Rich used to enjoy back in the day and their grandma let them watch it when they were just little boys (like Ben's age). Well, we watched it this afternoon and it was just as good as Mike remembered it to be (note sarcasm...but I was entertained enough to watch the whole thing!). We had a good long laugh about the fact that any grandma would let a kindergarten age kid watch this though. Luckily, they weren't damaged for life and turned out ok. :)

I can't say that I recommend you rent this one...although, on second thought, it would be the cheaper alternative to Toy Story 3. Brad said the shipping from eBay was more expensive than the purchase of the actual film. :)

Oh..and just in case you're wondering...C.H.U.D. stands for Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dewellers...subtitle: "They're Not Staying Down There Any Longer." Ooooohhhhh.... :)

Summer fun...

Since Mike is a teacher, he has the summer off and gets to spend his days playing with our kiddos. I think he's worn out by the time I get home from work (only three days a week), but it's clear that these little people love the time they spend with Dad. One day this week I came home to a "family fun fort" in the basement, as Benny called it, and they were so excited to show me.

Hanging out in the fort...

This morning, Ben was making a lot of noise in the kitchen and next thing we know he's running into the family room in his "spaceship." He converted a cardboard box that held some diapers we recently purchased into this lovely work of art. He covered it in stickers, stamps, and his name and has had fun playing with it all day. Of course, Nattie wanted one too, so Daddy let her play with a smaller box. :)

We spent the sunny afternoon today playing in the water on our deck...

What would a summer day be without a little sprinkler action?

Quick Benny story...tonight at dinner Ben was freaking out, as is usually the case, about having to eat what I made. I knew he'd like it, so I was being pretty stern with him about taking a bite and at least trying it. Well, he ended up liking it and eating his entire plate full. Afterwards I told him I was proud of him for trying something new and eating it all. He said "Thanks, Mom, but I'm a great eater. I don't know why this is a big deal." He is seriously a nut. He whines, complains and messes around at mealtime 99% of the time. He is a royal pain in the butt when it comes to food...but apparently in his own head he's a great eater. I guess one day he'll figure out that when you take your shirt off and your ribs show and your legs look more like your mom's than your dad's...you might want to start eating. :)

After dinner, I sat on the deck and watched the rest of my fam run around and chase each other like wild animals in the backyard. They were sure having fun. Ben dropped his drawers and peed in the yard at one point and Nattie had no clothes on. I'm sure the neighbors think we're total hillbillies!

Happiness...

Finally, here's a short video of my little dancer. Nattie LOVES music. Whenever we turn on the tunes she usually runs around the kitchen like a crazy women and then she'll randomly stop and show us some of her sweet moves. She makes me smile.

Relaxing weekend...

Mike and I had a date night on Friday. It was nice to spend an evening alone with him. We didn't do anything fancy...just dinner at Panera, quick trip to DSW and Old Navy, to the movie theatre to see Eclipse, and, finally, as is customary for us at least four out of seven nights a week this summer, ice cream! We don't get much alone time these days (as I'm sure is the case for many of you reading this!) and I imagine that having baby number three soon won't help with that! Thanks to Papa and Nana for hanging out with the kiddos for the evening, so we could take a break. :)

I used the self-timer to take this photo of us before our date. :) We look a little TOO happy.

Another trip for ice cream, playing on the playground and looking for bugs! I feel bad, but somehow I end up taking WAY more pictures of Nattie than I do of Ben these days. The top right picture gave me a chuckle with her diaper sticking out the front of her dress...so lady-like. :)

Just a couple of us with our rugrats who we love more than words....even when they are whiney, won't eat their dinner, and don't listen for the better part of the day (that pretty much sums up our day today...Ben got his butt smacked more times than I can count...apparently, not the most effective form of discipline?!!). It was actually one of those days where I just had to laugh at the thought of adding a newborn to the mix. What am I in for?! :)

Finally, I'm up to two appointments with my OB a week now, due to low amniotic fluid levels around the baby (same problem I had with Nattie!). He is asking me to do a lot of resting which is very, very hard for me! We, in case you hadn't noticed, like to stay pretty active...especially in the summer! Lying around when it's sunny out and my kids wants to play (or when I just want to feel productive!) makes me grouchy. I know this is only temporary and for my own good (and the little man's), so I'm just praying for a little extra patience to get through the next month and a half!

Off my rocker, boo boos, and troodons...

If the title of this blog doesn't suggest that this will be a pretty eclectic post, then I don't know what will. :)

I am 33 weeks, almost 34 weeks, pregnant now and I've officially had my first major meltdown of this pregnancy. Ok, so Mike might argue that point and be able to share a few other stories, but this one I'm referring to, was bad (way worse for me than anyone else...I'm sure!). When we arrived at the family reunion in WV last Saturday I started to feel overwhelmed and like I could just start crying for absolutely no reason at all. I had no idea why, but I assumed it was just a rush of hormones and hoped it would pass. I was in a room full of extended family (Mike's dad's fam) who I rarely got to visit with and some of who I had never even met before. Anyway, I kept it together.....for awhile.

We'd been at the reunion for a couple of hours and Nattie started getting fussy, so I took her in to the house and figured I'd lay down with her and try to get her to nap and, hopefully, that would help me feel better too. Well, she was NOT in the mood to sleep...at least not for me! I fought her and wrestled her..but no luck. Did I mention that it was really, really hot out and there was no air conditioning turned on in the house? A hot, hormonal, tired pregnant gal wrestling with a one-year-old in temperatures that are nearing those of hell should not be messed with! :) I started sobbing...freaking out....I couldn't stop. I walked around the house looking for a room that had a fan or a breeze or some kind of child restraint, you know, so that I could at least tie Nattie up (ok...not really). I decided I needed my husband and that I would get the keys to the car from him and take Nattie on a short, air-conditioned, ride to get her to fall asleep (the car always puts her to sleep...plus I was secretly hoping to crank the air to sub-arctic temperatures and let it blow up my shirt!).

So, I took Nattie outside and walked all over God's creation looking for Mike. I found him just as he was driving away in a truck with some of the guys. I yelled and waved my arms...but no luck and no keys (later found out they were in the car the whole time!). I started sobbing, again, and I think I said some swear words in my head (some bad ones probably). Since I was a total mess, I needed to find a way to avoid any of the fam seeing me in this state. I didn't want to have to explain that I was just a whack job and there was really no good reason why I was crying. I walked around for awhile looking for a secret entrance back into the house so that nobody would notice the mascara and sweat running down my face (believe it or not it was hotter outside than inside). By the way, this whole time Nattie wants nothing to do with me. She doesn't want me to hold her, she wants to run into the pond or go sit in some weeds or just kick me and yell..ahhhh!

I made it back in the house with Nat, but I still couldn't stop sobbing. At that point, Nana came to the rescue. She walked in to find me in freak out mode and offered to take Nattie and told me to go lie down. I found a room with a fan (halleluia!) and promptly planted myself directly in front of it for the next two hours. I woke up looking like I'd been run over...puffy eyes from crying...mascara crusted to my face....sweaty hair....I was a beautiful sight. I fixed myself up as best I could and decided to join the rest of the party. I opened the door to the garage and walked out to sit down and visit like a normal person. Everyone...like 30 people, turned to look at me as I walked out (at least that's what it felt like!). I'm sure they were all thinking I was off my rocker and were wondering what happened to my face. Someone asked how I was feeling (like it wasn't obvious!) and I started crying...again! Lucikly, that was the last of it for the day! Mike came back and took me to our cabin so I could change clothes and fix my face and then I was MUCH better and I haven't cried since. Although, I'm sure it's only a matter of time. I just LOVE hormones.

Moving on...this picture has nothing to do with my story...obviously. They were out on the deck this morning "helping" me water my flowers in their jammies. They decided, instead, to get in the kiddie pool fully clothed. I had to strip them down outside and, afterwards, they wanted to come in and snuggle with each other on the couch for a bit.

Yesterday, Mike and I thought we'd take the kiddos to a local spray park (we'd never been before). Well, it was in the upper 90's out and there were 9,000 crazy kids there. It was not quite the experience we were hoping for! Ben was irritated because we didn't bring him a toy for the water (alot of the other kids had buckets, etc) and he kept getting cold (how it was possible to be cold while outside yesterday, is beyond me!?). Nattie was loving it, that is until she was almost sent to the ER again. Poor baby! Some kids had big Tonka trucks they were zooming in and out of all the kids that were playing. It was an accident waiting to happen! A little boy crashed his big, metal truck....at full speed...into Natalie. She literally went up in the air and cracked her head on a metal bar and then the concrete. I was right there, but couldn't stop it. I screamed and grabbed her. The little boy was crying because he felt bad, but I'm sorry....where are your parents?!! I thought for sure she would have an open gash somewhere on her head and we'd be back to the ER...luckily, it was just several big goose eggs and lots of tears.

Before the crash...

After the crash and 20 minutes of an ice pack on her forehead. She's a little bruiser!

Benny resting on the way home from the spray park. His eyelashes, turned up nose, and lips make me smile. I love his face and sometimes I almost think he looks pretty... :)

Finally, a recent Benny funny.... Yesterday, while he was eating his dinner, he said "Mom, did you know there are some animals that are nocturnal?" I started laughing and said, "Oh really, like what?" He then rambled off several different things..."Owls, some birds, bats, and troodons." I had no clue what a troodon was, but I was informed by my little palentologist that they are a type of dinosaur. I looked it up on the Internet...and sure enough, he was right...and they're nocturnal too. I'm pretty sure he's picked all of this up from the new PBS show called Dinosaur Train. I just love how how brain soaks up what he is hearing. :)

Whew...sorry...that was a long post. Congrats if you made it to the end! :)

Almost heaven...

We spent the last three days with Nana, Papa, Brad, and Christina in West Virginia visiting Papa's extended family for a good ol' family reunion. We stayed at the Pipestem State Park in a little cabin and enjoyed just relaxing, hanging out and eating bbq (twice!) together.

We only had to drive five hours to see this beauty...

Spending time with Papa and Nana! Nattie was really enjoying her rocking chair at Cracker Barrell...so in an effort to get a happy picture with her, we didn't make her get out.

I always try to get some patriotic pics of my kiddos. This was the best I could do this year. I can't say I'll be framing either of these, but at least I tried.

Uncle Brad (looking good!) and Aunt Christina...

Too many pictures of my baby girl...but I never get tired of looking at her cute face. She's been talking so much and she just seems so grown up all of a sudden.

This was a dream weekend for Benny...he got to go four-wheeling, fishing, ride a monster truck, swimming, fireworks...he was in heaven!

Just a couple to prove that Mike and I were there...:)

Finally, the highlight of Ben's weekend...getting to ride a real monster truck! Papa's cousin, David, built this one himself and was so kind to give Benny a ride and even let him "drive"! The look on his face while he was on it was priceless.

The big boys had fun going for a ride too...(isn't the backdrop beautiful?!)

It was a real West Virginia weekend and we loved spending time with family!

It's hot pink and waterproof...

She can take a bath and go swimming with the new cast...it's gortex! Technology has come a long way! I remember going to summer camp one year with a cast on my leg and I had to wear a garbage bag over the darn thing just to take a shower. Luckily, she only has to have it on for three weeks. Doesn't it match her outfit perfectly? :) I figure if she has to have a cast, she might as well look cute while sporting it!