Father's Day at Goodman Pool

Ready....Set....
GO!! She is pretty fearless in the water!
David, G baby, and the Nat bug
His current mode of transportation when a push toy isn't around, or the ground is too hard. We call it the Spider Walk.
Baby blue!
Natalie and mommy chillin' poolside....if only I had a margarita, too bad they don't sell them there.

The whole fambly, as Nat calls us.

Natalie also had a ton of fun decorating a big cookie for Daddy (it involved lots and lots of sprinkles), picking out a balloon, decorating a card and helping wrap his present in his favorite color paper. She loved helping make Daddy feel special, it was so sweet to see. I couldn't ask for a better father for my children!!

Splash Park

Natalie holding hands with a friend, one of her favorite things to do (except when it's mommy's hand in a parking lot...why is that?!)
Garrett and Lydia playing with a little sprinkler, that's about as adventurous as he gets. He does NOT love the water like Nat does (or soap or washcloths for that matter, is that a boy thing?)
Put seven 4 and under's in a photo and this is what you get!
Today's blog posting has been brought to you by the letter A!

After our fun weekend in Chippewa Falls, we came home in time to bring Natalie to a friend's birthday at the Splash Park in Middleton. We love it there!

A Beautiful Escape

The weekend of June 13-14 David and I were able to get away to enjoy a friends wedding in Chippewa Falls.  One of my girls from the UW Stevens Point Cross Country team was getting married. We left on Saturday and visited the Leinenkugel's Brewery (perfect timing for Father's Day gifts for our Dads =), ate lunch at a cute train station cafe and enjoyed the beautiful outdoor wedding, after the ceremony we ate dinner outside and then had a great time around a campfire...what a cool wedding!! Then we went back to the hotel and slept with no children anywhere around until we couldn't sleep anymore, it was wonderful since Natalie is currently in a bed in our room and sometimes in our bed. We ate lunch on Sunday at a local greasy spoon with oversized steers in the parking lot and had a lovely uninterrupted conversation on the three hour ride back home. It was truly a great little getaway and we are eternally grateful to David's mom for watching our kids for us.

Natalie at the Dentist

A few weeks ago, the whole family made a trip to the dentist's office to have teeth cleaned. Well, ok Garrett did NOT have his two teeth cleaned, but everyone else did. Since it was Natalie's first time, here are a few pics to commemorate the moment. It's a big deal, my mom used to be a dental hygienist, we had expectations to live up to. She did a great job, loved the free toothbrush and toothpaste and the waiting room play area was a huge hit. She enjoyed scheming up ways to trap Garrett in the play area, he enjoyed finding new ways out. Neither Natalie or I had any cavities, but David had one!!

Daddy's Baby Clothes

These photos are of Garrett in an outfit that David's mom saved from when he was this age. She gave him a framed photo of the two of them in this same outfit for Father's Day, how cute!! It's fun to see what baby clothes from 1981 look like!!  As you can tell from the middle photo, we have an "almost walker" on our hands (although he looks very concerned about something there!)

Randomness

I know, the suspense is killing you. Here are the answers!

Night Gum= night gown (she has not yet been introduced to gum or soda, let's keep it that way)

Roller Coaster = coaster

Vinny Van= minivan (although I feel like I'm in the mafia when she calls it the Vinny van, Vinny just sounds like a mobster name to me)

Opi Meal= oatmeal, what she eats for breakfast almost every single day

Strawbareries= Strawberries, I love all the extra syllables in that one.

Also...

She asks me to take her grapes off the branches, and reminds me vehemently not to eat the sticks

She asked me to get some sauce (ink) to dip her stampers in to the other day 

We were at the park today and she said she had stones in her shoes. I told her they weren't stones because it was a wood chip park. Later she came up to me again and said she had pork chops in her shoes (I'm not sure how she got from wood chips to pork chops, but hey! )

I work at an athletic club in the drop off daycare room, it's called Kids Care. She calls it Kids Cared, I guess they don't care anymore.

And finally, "Mommy, that's mines!"

I met a mom today of a little girl who was born in April 06 (Natalie is March 06) and also is not potty trained, am I wrong that it makes me feel a little better??

Recent stuff

Sorry about that rant about the potty training there, I'm thinking she may not go to college in diapers, but it's looking like kindergarten is a real possibility. I know she'll do it when she's ready, however I fear she may never be ready. Anyway, here's a little glimpse into the happenings of our life lately.

Natalie's idea of fun lately is to pick out clothes for herself and Garrett and match them up. The only problem is, she thinks you are supposed to wear as much of one color as possible...if you choose a green shirt, for example, you should wear green shorts with it!
Garrett asleep in the excersaucer, oh the life of a second baby.
Natalie discovered that the puffs are much more accessible if you dump them all out at about this age too.
My boys at the park.
Natalie in surgical "loops", I have no idea why they are called that, and I'm pretty sure a three year old shouldn't be handling them.