Piano and Pumpkin Pie Prodigy

I sat down to practice the piano for a few minutes when I saw Natalie come up next to me carrying a story. She raised it high over her head and wanted to set it on the piano so I lifted her up and helped her arrange her story. She then indicated that she wanted to sit next to me and, of course, I obliged. She then proceeded to practice the piano with me! She sat for a good five minutes while we both read the music from our respective books: me from "Theme from Solace" and her from "Each Peach Pear Plumb." She was playing about spying the three bears.

I made pumpkin pies this week with Natalie's help. She's a very good helper! She stirred the water in her bowl with all her heart! Then she drank it. Yum, yum!

Halloween Fairy

We got back from Vegas at 5:30 pm and got ready REALLY quickly for THE Halloween Party of the year. Natalie was a little fairy - she loved her wand and tutu (made by her Mormor!) and wings and thouroughly enjoyed seeing her friends again after such a long absence. The party was great and we were so glad we made it. It was Natalie's first time trick-or-treating (and Kaijsa's first time that she can remember!). Natalie had a piece of licorice and has been looking for more ever since. Nate and I have already eaten all the rest of her candy though we figure we won't get away with that so easily next year!

AOA Conference in Las Vegas

The American Osteopathic Association held its annual convention in Las Vegas this year and Nate was able to get some "Education Time Off" to attend. We figured that as long as he had to pay for the hotel anyway, we might as well make a vacation of it. We really enjoyed getting to see the Mason's and visiting the pumpkin patch together. We spent 6 nights at the Imperial Palace on the strip, eating most of our meals at the convention and walking our legs off. Nate attended classes most of the day (from 6:30 am to 9 pm or so) with a few breaks in between. Natalie and I walked through the malls and window shopped. Inside the mall, I would let Natalie down and just follow her around. They weren't kid-friendly places at all, so I enjoyed seeing her little hand prints left all over their glass doors and windows. After napping at the hotel we would pick some new direction to explore. Everyone was enamored with our little peanut, which I enjoyed very much. Nate learned all sorts of interesting and useful things (as did I...) and we all had a great time relaxing and being together.