Santa 2010

We had a MUCH better Santa experience this year. Natalie has been asking EVERY Santa she has seen lately for Barbie stuff, especially a car, house and Bride Barbie (good things those are ALL the things Santa has gotten her!! ). Instead of freakin' out like last year, she ran up to the Santa and let him put her in his lap. Then she told him she would like all these things, please. And sat for her picture! We couldn't get a smile out of her, but after 2 naps in 3 weeks, she was a bit exhausted. She was very calm though. Then she said "Merry Christmas", gave him a hug, and walked away with her candy cane! Here are pictures from this year and last so you can see the comparison!

The Big 3!

Natalie turned 3 on the 19th. Hard to believe that she is 3 now! She had a wonderful day, starting with cupcake shaped cookies at school. Then Nana and Papa came that afternoon. They gave her a new tricycle, with pedals she can actually reach! She still hasn't quite figured out how to pedal on her own, but we are working on it. We had a a little cupcake that night to celebrate. The next morning she had several friends over for a party. We had a cupcake shaped piñata that had strings on the bottom for the kids to pull. We also decorated cupcakes and the kids got to take them home. Natalie, in keeping with her street sign obsession, insisted her cakes be "diamond triangle" and "diamond octagon" so that's exactly what Mommy made. She got lots of presents from family and friends, with some of her favorites being the new Fisher Price ixL, Alfie the robot, some magnetic dolls, and the play-doh cake decorating set!! A few others we haven't quite opened yet. A little overwhelming for her at three so we are slowly playing with them all! Enjoy the pictures! Just a few other cute things Natalie has said now that she is three: "I want my telephones" (she meant her new headphones). Papa is a big sleepy Texas boy. And she told the inflatable Santa and every single Santa we have seen that she wants Barbie stuff for Christmas!

The Birthday Girl

Cookies at School

A little helpful push from Papa

Opening Presents

Cupcake

Pinata

Enjoying some cake

Goofing off with Papa

Birthday Princess

The Cakes

Halloween - A week later

We had a week long celebration here is Hartsvegas. We went to the trunk-or-treat at First Baptist on Wednesday night and came home with a bucket so full of candy that Natalie could barely hold it up. Thursday night Nat and Paul went to Taste of Coker, a fundraiser for the athletics dept, while I had to teach. Friday we went trick-or-treating downtown. It was fun and we got lots more candy! Saturday night was the Halloween festivities at Coker (it was for 4 and up so we didn't go). Instead we carved out pumpkins. And then Sunday we went over to the Browns' house for snacks and trick-or-treating. Nat was a little hesitant at first but then she got the hang of it and would say trick-or-treat. She would immediately look in her Elmo bucket to see what she had gotten. At one house, they had a witch on the porch. The homeowners were on the other side of the porch. Natalie kept saying "Trick-or-treat" to the witch and couldn't figure out why she wasn't getting anything! We had a lot of fun in our cupcake costume but we are glad that Halloween is over. Now we are focusing on the fact that Natalie will be 3 IN TWO WEEKS!!!

Random Happenings

Great Natalie quotes this week: "I'm hiding Uncle AJ" and "Daddy teaches nap". Guess she thought the word math was the word nap, but I hope she doesn't think that math is boring!

Startwd teaching my stats class last night. I had 4 semesters of Stats in college and I still don't like it...Now I am teaching it! As my good friend Jay once told me, "it's not Statistics, it's sadistics" and I totally agree.

Natalie is going to be a cupcake for Halloween. Her costume is complete and she loves it. Every time we pass anything Halloween she says "It's not scary..it's a costume. I have a costume. I'm going to be a cuppy-cake"

Uncle AJ came to visit and Natalie wrapped him around her finger! So cute to see how much she loves her Uncle!

One month from today I will have a 3 year old!

Natalie is currently into the old Hap Palmer "Witches' Brew" song and Brave Combo!

MIA

So I will probably be a little sparse (even more so I mean!) in my blog postings for a while. Things have really picked up this semester and I am going to start teaching a second class (found out last week) starting in 2 weeks. So I will now be teaching Intermediate Algebra MWF mornings, SAT prep class Tuesday afternoons, Statistics MThurs nights and tutoring 2 different high school students, one on Sunday night, one on Tuesday night. So as you can see, all of that added to being Mommy and Wife, will keep me ..busy... for a while (and outta trouble!) That being said, we are so excited because Uncle AJ is coming to visit us in 2 weeks - he hasn't been to our SC house yet. And Grammy and Grandpa (Paul's parents) will be here at the end of the month. So if I don't get many posts up here, we are still alive..just really busy!

North Carolina and Thomas the Train

We had a BLAST in North Carolina last weekend. We drive in on Friday, went to a Super Target for a while and then hit Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner. Paul has been missing wings for a while so he was glad to get there! And Natalie did so great with eating and even got a "Wild One" hat to wear.

Saturday morning we were up early. We went to the NC Transportation Museum to see Thomas. We got a few pictures with the train and then wondered around until it was our turn to ride Thomas. Natalie got to go through a child-size maze and got a Thomas umbrella. We then waited in line for our turn to ride. Natalie LOVED the train ride. It was a quick ride (about 25 minutes) but Natalie loved the ride. We sang "I've Been Working on the Railroad...with the word "Thomas" instead of "Dina" and clapped for Thomas for giving us a ride. We then hit the roundhouse to see all of the model trains and a few Thomas train tables. We then stood in line to see Sir Topham Hatt, although Natalie was too scared to actually meet him.

Our dear friend Tsvetanka and her husband Mark met us while we were waiting in line. We heading to a park with them that had so many things to do: carousel, petting zoo, paddle boats, putt-putt, and more. Natalie LOVED the turkey and HATED the carousel!

After having lunch with our friends, we headed into Charlotte to go to Trader Joe's. We miss TJs SO SO SO much from Tucson. So we loaded up the car with lots of goodies and then headed home. Enjoy the pictures!

First Mommy Heart Attack

So yesterday was an eventful day in our house. I was getting ready to go to my SAT prep class and Natalie was playing on my bed. I saw her bump her head on the foot board and she immediately started screaming. By the time I got to her, I could see blood on my sheets. I immediately unwrapped her and saw her mouth was full of blood. My first thought was that she had knocked out her teeth! I rushed her into the bathroom, had her spit out all the blood and saw no teeth missing. But her teeth were bleeding profusely, so I figured one was probably loose. I called Paul, and with Natalie hysterical in my arms, told him to come home immediately. I then called her pediatrician who said to bring her right in. By the time Paul got home, we were in the car and ready to go. After 2 doctors checked her teeth, we were relieved to hear that no teeth were loose. (And a friend who is a dentist in Corsicana told me she was probably ok..but to check and make sure her teeth don't start to darken, as that may be a sign of nerve damage..thanks Dr. Pillans!) By dinner time she was eating like her normal self (once she figured out to chew on the other side) and then was running around like nothing had ever happened. Twice today she has said "tooth hurts" but I don't know if that is her remembering yesterday or they still hurt today. I'm covering my bases with Tylenol!

THOMAS

We just got our tickets to meet Thomas the train in North Carolina in a few weeks. I mentioned it to Natalie and now it is all she talks about. You get to take a 25 minutes train ride on a Thomas replica and then they have other Thomas themed activities as well! We can't wait! Will post up pictures after our trip!

Praying

Please join us in praying today for one of Paul's cousins, Giana. She is a sweet, smart little 9 year old who is having surgery to remove a brain tumor today. Keep her and her family in your prayers please. Will update when I know more.

**Update. Giana is out of surgery. Keep those prayers coming.

Over the Highways and Over the Bridge..to Grammy's House we go...

So for 2 weeks we went up to CT to visit Grammy and Grandpa. We left in our car a little before lunch time on a Friday. 16 hours..yes 16... we got to their house in the wee hours of the morning. (Just a tip..NEVER EVER take the George Washington Bridge..even at 1 am on a Friday). So after a little sleep, we geared up to see Cousin Sofie and Auntie Heather. Natalie was so excited to play with Sofie. And she loved Grammy's doll house..or Princess Castle as Natalie called it. On Sunday, Godmamma Jamie came on the train to spend the day with us. Natalie loved the stickers from her and Paul and I enjoyed catching up with her. And with Natalie's train obsession, she loved getting to see Jamie get back on the train to head home and for days we heard "Jamie goes on the train!".

We relaxed a good bit while we were up there and took a few (ok too many) trips up to the outlet mall. We got to eat the BEST pizza (so much better than the one we got here that had AMERICAN cheese on it) and lots of seafood( Natalie loves shrimp and lobster!). We got to spend a day with Auntie Ally, Uncle Nick, Immy and Jamie and play with all of their toys. We even got to go to the beach with them! We went hiking with Auntie Heather and Sofie, hung out and caught up with our friend Dimitar who drove in from NJ, and got to see lots of other family and friends. On the way home, we stopped in NJ to see Nana and Papa (who were up there for their 45th high school reunion), Auntie Lisa, Uncle Dave, Lizzie, Auntie Patti, Uncle Tom, and a dear friend Lisa. The drive from NJ only took 13 hours!! Here are a few pictures from our trip. Enjoy!

Hanging out in Grandpa's chair

Grammy and her girls

Cookin' with Sofie

Checkin' out a New Look

Daddy dueling with Jamie..the boys have to stick together

Cousins

Sharing a Smooch

Natalie, Jamie, Sofie, and Immy

The Princess Castle

Loved Grammy's Swing

Natalie, Daddy, Auntie Heather and Sofie at the beach

One of my favorites..enjoying the view

Natalie thought you were suppose to eat the shells

Enjoying some ice cream

New blog!

Check out my new blog, Diaper Decor (diaperdecor.blogspot.com) I am using it to try and sell my diaper babies and diaper wreaths! Wish me luck!

Babysitting Success = Some Dates with the Hubby

So last night was the faculty potluck dinner before school starts next week. We got Natalie her first babysitter (other than the grandparents). Luckily, one of the teachers from her school also babysits so it was someone who she is familiar with. Although this teacher is no longer at her school (she is starting college at Coker and will be one of Paul's students!!), she is still going to babysit. Miss Lizbet (or Elizabeth) is one of ten children and was the only teacher Natalie would go to for the first 4 months of school last year so I felt pretty confident it would go ok. I told her several times that Elizabeth was coming over, we were going out, etc and said she should show Elizabeth her toys. So as soon as she showed up, Natalie was so excited, saying "Come see my toys" and we left without a problem. When we got back she was still playing with Elizabeth even though we were already home. And this morning she asked where she was!! SO I think that we should be able to have a few date nights this semester, other than when my parents or Paul's are in town! WHOO HOO!

New Edition

While I am planning on writing a lengthy blog about our trip to CT and NJ, I don't have the time now. So instead I will share the news...Natalie has a new cousin. Not sure if that is the technical term considering it is my cousin's child, but it is close enough. My cousin Jay and his wife Stephanie had a baby girl on Saturday night...Ciani Louise Douglass. We are so excited to have a playmate on my side of the family. And considering that there are have been a lot of boys in the Douglass family (my dad only has a brother, I was the only female grandchild out of 6), it is so exciting for the next generation to have TWO GIRLS!!! Welcome to the family Ciani. We hope to meet you soon!

And we've found out that our wonderful friends, the Hendersons, are expecting twins! We can't wait to meet them! What an incredible blessing for them!

A long overdue update

So here's what life has been dishing us lately.

Natalie: Pretty much has peeing down in terms of potty training. The other..not so much. But she does try. She's been really good at school and has been coming home in her same clothes!!! She really enjoyed the visit from Nana and Papa last week. She is talking up a storm. A few of her latest gems "Have donuts for dinner". "What happened Princess? oh no..the bad guy got her" (too much Nintendo I think) And she has a HUGE obsession with street signs and stop lights. To the point that we no longer listen to music or watch the DVD player in the car so that she can tell us "I see diamond with an octagon" (yellow sign indicating an upcoming stop sign), "Thomas/Gordon" (the cross-street and our street) and she loves to say "S-O-P Stop Stop Stop" when she sees a stop sign. I even made her a little pillow from some fabric I found with street signs. She calls it her "special pillow". She is still loving school and is going 5 days a week. She received a "Happy Note" last week because she was doing a really good job following directions, marching to the music in music class, and creative play in the little kitchen. She will go 5 days a week in the Fall as well.

Paul: Paul has been busy with work. He finished up his research with two undergraduate students at the end of July. He is writing a book for a new class he is teaching in the Fall (I'm the editor and our dear friend Troy is doing the illustrations and collaborating). He has mastered our garden and we have been getting tons of tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers. He has also been mastering his Nintendo skills due to Natalie's obsession with the games lately..although he is getting sick of a few of them!

And finally me! I am currently teaching a two-week SAT enrichment class through our church. I have also been polishing up my lectures for the Fall. I will be teaching one section of College Algebra again. Today I had an injection into my sacro-iliac joint to HOPEFULLY alleviate the back pain that I have had for the last two years. The lidocaine is still wearing off but it does seem to already be working. There are a few other health issues (thought I had a kidney stone at one point) but hopefully they will be sorted out quickly as well. I have also been busy making diaper wreaths for my family and friends who are pregnant..and there are a LOT! If you are interested in one for a shower gift, let me know. I ship!! I've also been trying to tackle my sewing machine again. And after my mom, who can sew anything with her eyes clothes, couldn't get my machine to work, we realized the machine was a lemon (and confirmed it on the internet). So I got a new one this past weekend and made Natalie the pillow mentioned above. Gonna keep practicing on it and hope to one day master it.

Well, that is all for now. We are hopefully heading to CT for a visit soon. Will leave you will a few pictures of my princess..the girl who is finally getting into all things girls, like dress-up and jewelry!

These first two are a conglomeration of a princess dress from cousin Immy, a tutu from Godmama Jamie, and various "prizes" won from potty training

These last two were my tap and ballet costumes when I was about her age

Potty Training..Day 3

So..I don't think I totally believe that a child can be completely potty trained in three days. We've spent three LONG days at the house. Natalie had fewer accidents today but still isn't really telling us when she needs to go or doing everything she needs to do in the potty. I got out of the house for a little while this morning and got my haircut and went to the grocery store. We also managed to go out for some fast-food for dinner..all three of us! And no accidents. But I don't feel confident enough to send Natalie back to school tomorrow. So we will try another day at home and then try school on Wednesday. I really don't want to put her in Pull-Ups and we will DEFINITELY NOT be going back to diapers..even though she asked for them a few times today. So I am feeling a bit discouraged but after some wonderful comments by friends who have gone through this recently, I am not feeling alone!

We did do some fun things today. Paul and Natalie played lots of Nintendo again. But we also used watercolor paints for the first time and played with Play-Doh. We also did more stickers and watched the Pixar short films and read lots of books. Today we got a special prize of a book with 700 Thomas the Tank Engine stickers. We didn't take a whole lot of pictures today, but here are a few!

Oh no! Here we go again!!!!

Today's prize: A Thomas book!

That's a lotta stickers!

We're still learning not to eat the Play-Doh

She started out just with the water but then figured it out!

Yay! Mommy's home!

Playing Thomas trains

Hey...I thought this potty training was going to be easy!