Daddy's little helper

Daddy working on the yard and trimming the plants. Natalie loves to help with everything. Here, Natalie collects the trimmings from the tree...

...and neatly places the branches in a pile.

Natalie takes a break to play with her favorite toy car. She enjoys the outdoors!

Valentine Breakfast and Target store

We enjoyed a nice Valentine breakfast at a small French cafe/bakery located in Old Downtown Grapevine. For breakfast, we had quiche with fresh fruit and it was good. Natalie shared some of Mommy's plate. She was so well-behaved and enjoyed playing with the sugar and sweetener packets. She took them out and put them back. She sure loves to stay busy ;)

After breakfast, we stopped by Target for a few items. Daddy took Natalie to her favorite aisle--the toys! Since the store was not busy, he took her out of her stroller to walk around. Big mistake and lesson learned! She wanted to play and get into everything!

She saw her favorite Elmo and was fascinated by the "Elmo Live!" doll. He says, "Elmo just wanted to say that Elmo loves you. Kiss, kiss...Muah, Muah!" (Don't ask how many times I have heard that at the store--HA!) Natalie blew kisses back at Elmo, then off she goes to the next toy... Oh boy!

What comes next we call the "meltdown." Natalie got mad and upset when it was time to go. She is at the age where tantrums begin. Mommy and Daddy try our best not to let Natalie get her way. Enjoy the video!

Tadoodle Time!

Natalie is our little artist. She loves to scribble and color. Natalie received these Crayola Tadoodle crayons and markers set as a gift. I thought it was time for her to try them out, even though she knows how to use our "real" pens and markers. Before we began our little art project at home, Mommy made sure to tape up our kitchen table with paper. Natalie started to color away. So cute! We will definitely frame some of her best artwork--Ha!

Natalie colored for about a good 20-25 minutes while Mommy cleaned up the kitchen. It was a nice way to keep her busy and entertained. Let's hope she does not color our walls and furniture!

Natalie's New Ride and Bompa

Natalie has a new ride and favorite person. Bompa (aka, Natalie's grandpa Raymond / aka, Alain's dad) came over and spoiled Natalie with this cute car. Bompa is now her favorite. He pushed her all around the house and she was loving it. She did not want to get out of the car. It was getting close to her bed time (as you can see, Natalie was already in her PJammies), so all this fun made her more excited than tired.

Vroom, Vroom...Beep, Beep

Go Speed Racer!

So now it was past Natalie's bedtime. Bompa helped wind down Natalie by reading her favorite "night-night" books. Funny thing was Natalie did more of the reading than him. She was pointing and saying some of the animals and objects in her book, making Bompa laugh! He was very amazed of how smart she is.

Here, Natalie loves to point out all the "bananas" in the book, Good Night, Gorilla.

Night, Night Bompa...and Thank you for Natalie's new toy car!

Happy 1st Birthday, Maddie!

Our friends, The Cruz's, little girl Maddie turned one year old over the weekend. Her birthday party was at their house and it was Elmo-themed (which happens to be Natalie's favorite puppet, too). When we got there, Natalie could not help but point out Elmo everywhere. The house was full of kids (mainly girls) and it was really cute to see Natalie and Maddie play together, too.

Natalie wanted Maddie's soft, silky blanket / Checking out Maddie's birthday presents. Our girls look alike from the back :)

Natalie could not get enough of their dog, Tonky

Busy playing with the balloons

Static hair / Hugging on a Care Bear

Maddie did so well with her birthday cake. She dove into it, face first, and only used her mouth to eat it. It was so cute! Maddie was loving every bite of her cake. Happy Birthday, Maddie!

Gift opening time / My friend Sharon and me

Natalie eating with a spoon

Here is a video of Natalie eating with a spoon. For lunch, I made her some whole-grain white rice mixed with garden vegetables baby food. When she really likes something she says "mmm..." She also says "rice" very well.

Now that Natalie started to use a spoon/fork to eat with her meals, she will not let Mommy or Daddy feed her anymore. She turns her head away, and says "no." She wants to do it herself. Now and then, when she is struggling to get food on her utensil, she will let us help her. Natalie's independence is starting to show...