Busy being sick...

Sorry for the lack of news here on the blog.  We somehow made it to NC for a long, very fun weekend in February without a single camera (BOOOOO!) and then came back with some very bad germs.  Natalie has been battling roseola (high fever, possessed by evil mignons) and now we are currently dealing with a VERY bad cough.  We haven't had a decent night's sleep in over a week.  Poor baby has some monster bags under her eyes and has yet to get back her appetite - and if you know Natalie that is a BIG deal.

So here's some relatively recent, healthy pictures of our girl to enjoy until we can all get back to zero again.

That's a little too close, Mom.

CHEESE!

Our very own artist at work

And with Mamaw and Papaw coming up tomorrow for a visit we are VERY MUCH looking forward to rest and fun in the playroom this week.  We promise to keep a camera close by. :)

Happy Heart Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!

 

Here's to the two people who make my heart very happy today!

 

 

 

We are celebrating with a weekend in NC with family - and a little chocolate pudding.

 

 

Here's hoping you all have a lovely day with lots of smiles.

Thankful for playrooms and old school lunches

We have a full blown TWO YEAR OLD on our hands up here and its been a bit of a challenge, given the recent cold weather to keep her occupied and well worn out by the end of the day (Jon and I, however have no trouble with the being worn out part).  So this morning when it was 20 degrees when we woke up we had breakfast and retreated to her playroom.  

Here are a few pictures:

A happy girl!

Creating a masterpiece

Such focus

Oh, hey Mommy!

Letting her masterpiece dry on the easel

A larger view of the art area and futon

The bear chair my dad made for Shannon and me

The view of bird feeders from her window

Lots of pictures of family

I was happy to move my office to the basement so that we could dedicate this space to play time.  Its been wonderful for when little friends visit and a great way to keep all the toys out of the living room.

The next group of pictures I'm calling:

 For the LOVE of a PB&J

This is a beloved standby for Jon and me but Natalie hadn't really embraced the concept of a sandwich until recently.  Today we shared a lovely lunch of PB&J, goldfish and milk.  Clearly she enjoyed it!

Mmmmmmmm..... :)

Happy girl!

I love lunch dates with this little girl!

What's that I hear?

I had to post tonight to tell everyone (anyone?) reading the blog that Natalie came through her little "procedure" today with ease.  We were at the surgery center at 8:00 and headed home by 9:15.  They said she did great (the 8 minutes that we weren't by her side).  They had to take a lot of fluid out of her ears but from now on we should be smooth sailing.   Thank you all so much for your thoughts and prayers.  We were all calm and confident heading into the procedure today and I know it was a credit to the prayers being sent up on our behalf.

We're certain that Natalie is hearing even better these days - although it never seemed that there was a problem - the doctor assures us that she will hear better now. The listening part might be another question for our busy toddler :)

And just to share - we've had a bit more snow, cold weather and two new additions to our household.

Natalie's FISH!  We are taking votes on their names

 We have also noticed an increased interest in dressing up and imaginative play which is so cool to see developing in Natalie.  Her recent fashion choices are questionable but fun.  See for yourself.

Daddy's Hat

I promise we keep the house warm...

And if you had forgotten the abundance of personality in this little girl

 Here's another ensemble she put together from her play room.  She has her purse, cell phone and keys (in the purse) her "princess hat" and her Christmas singing penguin.  She was more than happy to pose for the pictures.

Sweet girl!

Showing Daddy her purse and "keys"

Gotta move!

 The recent dusting of snow we had was pretty - and if Natalie has anything to say about it - it was also tasty.  But it was COLD.  When we went out for this walk she had her snow bibs and coat on over her clothes because it was 16 degrees without the windchill.  She didn't mind one bit - she had a great time taking Roscoe for a walk.

Go this way!

Jon showed her how to put her hands in her pockets - adorable!

 She got tired of walking after a while and her sweet Daddy was happy to carry her.  I was thrilled to get some pictures of these two together.

This little girl loves her Daddy

And of course, even at 16 degrees, Jon was wearing shorts!

 Even before Natalie's snowman themed birthday party she has loved snowmen.  However we haven't gotten anywhere near enough snow to build the real thing - however Jon did his best with what we had and created this little dude for Natalie.  She was thrilled!  He put him on the table on the deck so Natalie could see him from our sliding door. 

Under construction...

Daddy and his lovely assistant

And here's one more picture of our happy little girl!