Rule of Life #8:

Never Miss an Important Party!

Happy 2nd Birthday to our precious baby girl!
Two muffins (and candles) on the morning of Natasha's birthday.

An Olivia themed party, since Natasha loves the show, Olivia!

Photo op table with Olivia cutouts, costumes,
pig ears and pig noses!

Goodie bags for the kids

The birthday girl decked out in her
personalized Olivia shirt and a tutu!

She is ready to start the party!

The bounce house all to herself... not for long!

I love this picture of her...

Posing for the camera

Our little princess

Uncle Matt and Tasha... I didn't realize this
until now, but they are coordinating!

Grandma Lou and Brooks

Dada, Tasha and Papa

Family photo

Getting ready to sing Happy Birthday

She did try to blow out the candles, but needed a little help.

Yummy Yummy cupcakes!

"I finda Phil"

Opening the first present

"For mama"... thanks baby girl!

Miss Harper

Miss Madie enjoying the swing

Fiona and Tate at the photo op table...
Natasha is looking for her costume
(or just pulling everything out)

The little kids were kicked out of the bounce
house numerous times by the big kids.

Kiki taking a picture with Olivia (backwards)

Cam and Tasha

"Here Kiki, you be Darth Vader"

Gage and Will looking for their polaroids

We used our Polaroid camera for the photo op table
and the film is probably 6 years old, so the quality
of the pictures weren't great. But, the kids loved
when their photos popped out and had to wait
to show up.

Miss Sawyer... I swear she and Natasha are somehow related.

The adults having fun with the photo op table!

Gage and Will stopping for a second to have a snack.

Kiki getting to enjoy the bounce house before the big boys come back!

Our birthday girl at the end of the day... all smiles!

Thank you to everyone for celebrating Natasha's 2nd Birthday with us! She had a fabulous fun day, "Olivia" style. The weather was perfect for her backyard party. We had the bounce house up for all ages and a fun photo op table with Olivia cutouts and costumes. Once a couple of kids tried it out, then the rest of them wanted to try it out. It's funny because our kids are so used to digital cameras, iPhones, etc. that none of them have seen a Polaroid camera. It was fun to watch their faces when the photo just popped out in no time. Unfortunately the film was a little old, so the quality was not great. But I think it just makes the pictures look a little vintage. They were all excited to take their photos home with them. Natasha had such a wonderful time with her family and friends that she is still talking about her party. She wants to open more presents, eat "happy birthday" cupcakes, bounce in the bounce house and try on hats. It was a perfect day!

This morning Natasha had her 2 year check up and she is doing great. Here are her stats:

Weight: 27 lbs. 7 oz. (55-60th percentile)
Length: 35" (80th percentile)
Head circumference: 48 cm (70th percentile)

She did not like stripping down to nothing to be weighed and measured. But with a diaper on, the rest of the check up went great and she was chatting with Dr. Cox. No vaccines at this appointment, but they did prick her foot to draw blood to test her cholesterol and Hemoglobin. Both came out normal, so she is a very healthy 2 year old. Dr. Cox said that summertime would be the perfect time to start potty training... phew that still gives me a couple of months to read some books on that and get prepared!

I still can't believe we have a two year old. She is turning into such a little girl who brings us smiles and laughter every day. The things she says amazes us. Natasha is a nurturer who wants to change her doll's diaper, pushes them around in a stroller and feed them food. But she is also very much her father's daughter who now wants to watch basketball with him before bed, dig in the dirt and jump like a crazy person on the couch. She is the love of our life!

Almost Two!

Happy Birthday, Natasha (almost)!
Today at Toddler Time we celebrated Natasha's birthday.
She picked out the chocolate cupcake and placed
two candles on top. We all sang Happy Birthday to her.
By the photos, she doesn't seem all that impressed.
But, when the song was over she came back to me to
sit on my lap and with a big smile, she said "Again!"

She was a little shy when we all sang to her.

My silly girl at snack time.

Enjoying her green muffin.
Phone camera + an always on-the-go toddler = blurry photos...
sorry!

Trying out the trike at play time

Starting to get the hang of it. She is getting a new
shiny red one for her birthday...
shhh, don't tell her!

An Afternoon with Brooks

Lounging at Tasha's house

Natasha looks so big next to Brooks... but I'm sure one day
it will be opposite and Brooks will be towering over Tasha!

LOVE... So sweet!

Trying out the Bumbo for the first time

And then Natasha decided she wanted to sit in it!

She definitely got out of it more easily than she did when
she had those chunky thighs

Natasha decided that the Bumbo was for her and
the UCLA chair was for Brooks

Uncle Zac would be happy to know his nephew likes the UCLA chair!

Helping Brooks get more comfortable

Checking each other out

A happy grandma

It's not easy getting all three of them to look at the camera

I think he likes the Bumbo

We had a nice afternoon with Grandma, Auntie Izzie and Baby Brooks. After a great lunch at Cinnamon Productions, everyone came back to the house for some playtime. Natasha loved interacting with Brooks and he had fun watching her. He is getting so big, more alert and stronger. We are letting them borrow our Bumbo for Brooks as his neck is getting stronger. I think he really liked it, but Natasha had to make sure it was safe first. She tested it for him and gave her approval. At first she wanted him to sit in her UCLA chair while she sat in the Bumbo. She helped Brooks take his socks off and help him put them back on... such a good little helper. After some playtime, both were exhausted and ready for a nap!

Warm Winter Days

Park days:

Danger monkey!

Yes, she climbed this all by herself!

Sliding

Swinging... these are a few of her favorite things!

Armstrong's Garden Center:

Running in the sun

Fun at Mimi and Papa's:

She loves water... can't wait for pool/beach days

Yup, she wanted her clothes off.

This is how she rolls:

Shades and her entourage...

At Stroller Strides with Muno, puppy and dolly


Popsicle Days: Everday!

She loves popsicles

Messy face... but a cute one!

Shopping: At home

She cleaned us out!

There is all our food!

Grandma Thursdays:

Blowing bubbles in the backyard

Great aunt Mary visited from Minnesota

Fun with the tunnel

Cereal: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Natasha LOVES cereal!

And this is why she eats it outside... just kidding!

As you can see, we have had some great warm winter days, as well as some cold ones. Natasha and I even went to the pool one day to soak up some of that warm sun. I would have taken pictures, however our little fishy loves the water so much I didn't trust her alone in the water while I grabbed my camera. I'm sure there will be some pictures this summer when we spend most of our days at the pool. Natasha started gymnastics last week at Cal-Elite. We will be going every Tuesday for a half hour. She had a good time, but like everything else, it takes awhile for her to warm up to it. It is a parent and me class, so very hands on and therefore I couldn't get any photos. Hopefully as she gets more comfortable with the class I will be able to snap a few. Well, we are expecting some rain at the end of this week, but I sure do hope the summer weather returns (or at least is dry) the next weekend for Natasha's 2nd Birthday!