Pumpkin Patch and Birthday Bash!

The past week has been a VERY eventful one! Natalie's California family came out to meet her and to help us celebrate her first birthday! She met her Granna, Grandpa, Great Granny and Great Pa. She's done really well getting to know everyone, and we've only had minor melt downs! All things considered, Natalie is a super star!

Friday we took Natalie to Gross Farms in Sanford for a hay ride and to pick a pumpkin from their pumpkin patch. We all piled into two cars and drove the 20 minutes to the farm only to learn that their hay rides were closed to the public that day because of school groups. I was so mad. It almost hurt my feelings for Natalie, I was sad that she couldn't do something fun. Anyway, she had a blast stomping all around the pumpkin patch and it didn't take long before we settled on the perfect pumpkin.

Saturday was Natalie's first birthday party, and it was wonderful! I decided on a Halloween themed party, I figured this would be my only opportunity. Being born in October, I doubt she's going to want to share her birthday with Halloween ever again. We dressed her in her little jack-o-lantern dress, painted pumpkins, and ate lots of Halloween themed goodies. We had "Monster Snot", "Spooky Salsa", "Mummies", "Snakes", a "Bowl of Bones" and "Witch's Brew". After three prototypes I finally perfected the pumpkin cake. I was pretty darn proud of myself, too; it was quite the masterpiece. Step aside, Cake Boss! Natalie was a little overwhelmed by all of the attention, she didn't even get to open her presents! Over all, though, it was a wonderful party!

Birthday Month

Natalie's like me. She celebrates her birthday all month long. So far she's already had three birthday celebrations and there's still one more on the way! She partied at Granddad's house the day before her birthday, went to the State Fair on her birthday, and then because she was too tired after the fair, had her cake the day after her birthday. Now we're looking forward to her big party on the 30th. Happy birthday month, Natalie!

365 Days of Natalie

365 days ago I had a baby.

While I remain firm that I'm going to be a Mommy of one forever, I do miss my newborn. I remember the day she was born so vividly, it seems like it was only yesterday. Last Fall was such a wonderful yet heartbreaking time in my life; I was celebrating the joy of bringing a new life into the world, a life Chase and I created, without my husband. I'm lucky I had my Mom with me... she camped out on my couch for the first two months of Natalie's life to help get me settled. Without her, I surely would have been committed. Those first days/nights were so rough; Natalie cried almost continuously, I was a nervous wreck and very lonely and Chase was fighting a war over 2000 miles away. Despite all of that, I was happy. Natalie brought me a type of joy I never knew existed and I finally understood what my Mom meant when she would say to my teenage self "One day, when you're a mother, you'll understand." Mom, I totally get it!

Over the past year I have watched my little girl grow into something and someone quite remarkable. From the first night home to first words and first steps, I've had the privilege to share it all with her. She's accomplished so much in her first year and I am so proud that's she's my daughter and I am honored God chose to give her to me.

Happy Birthday, sweet Natalie. I love you.

Here's what Natalie is doing now that she's ONE YEAR OLD!
*Walking
*Talking (in addition to "momma" and "dada" she can also say "button", "doggy", "thank you", "up" and "hi". Which actually sound like "butttssss", "duh duh", "Kayuuu", "uh" and "hiiiiiiiiii", respectively. In the morning when I get her out of bed and Andi is in the room, I will always wave and say "Hi Doggy", and then Natalie says "hiiiiiii duh duh".) I think it's amazing that she's mimicking me so well. The other night at dinner, Mom cleared her throat... and then so did Natalie. She's incredibly bright.
*Sorting things. She'll take an orange out of the fruit bowl... and then put it back.
*Following single step commands.

Natalie has had a big birthday weekend. Saturday, she hung out with her Dad all day long. I had a Junior League function for most of Saturday, so Natalie was Chase's side kick. They went to the drug store and the hardware store together. Sunday she celebrated her birthday in Durham and today she went to her very first NC State Fair! What a great way to spend your first birthday! She loved it, and was such a good girl.

Natalie's First Balloon

Natalie was given her very first balloon today! It was so sweet to watch her discovering her new toy, she absolutely LOVED it! She carried it around everywhere she went, and completely melted my heart in the process. Unfortunately, poor little Andi was a bit jealous that she wasn't given a balloon, too, so you'll hear some objections from her.

This is how Natalie eats a puff.

Natalie Walking

Ladies and Gentlemen, at long last, and after many failed attempts at capturing this with a camera, I give you proof. Here is a video of Natalie walking! Boy was this hard... I was starting to think I had a better chance at getting a video of Sasquatch.



This is what happens when Chase folds the laundry:


Actually, Natalie LOVES helping with the laundry. And by helping I mean climbing in the basket (on her own) and throwing everything out. Usually she follows up by unfolding everything you've just folded. This child gets away with murder.

My Granddad's brother and his wife (my Uncle Alton and Aunt Mary Ann) sent Natalie this sweet outfit. I was trying to get a picture of her in it to send to them, and I thought I'd share with you as well!

My Personal Hurricane

Hurricane Natalie: Category 5

This is one of Natalie's very favorite past times. I don't know how I let it get so bad this time, at least she helped me tidy up.



I've been on a mission to bake the perfect first birthday cake for Natalie. Originally, I had planned on getting her a gourmet cake from one of our local bakeries, but I figured it's a whole lot more special for Mommy to make her cake... and fancy cakes are just a wee bit expensive. Last week I produced "Prototype A", it was OK but needed some improvement. To save what's left of my waistline I gave it to Chase to take to work, he said it was like soldier chum. Now I have the image of a platoon of famished soldiers circling my cake like sharks stuck in my head. Anyway, today I made "Prototype B". Can you tell I'm taking this very seriously? It was an epic failure. I won't go into details, but let's just say it tastes a whole lot better than it looks. As I was struggling with a cake that was crumbling, Natalie was "organizing" my cabinets. Whatever, it made her happy. I'd love to share photos of my cake attempts, but then it would ruin the surprise.

Random photo: Chase and Me on one of our very rare date nights.

Doesn't this look like the quintessential prom photo? That's kind of what I was going for.

Finally...A picture!

I'll bet many of you have forgotten what Natalie looks like! Sorry it's taken me so long to post a new picture. I have turned the photo taking responsibilities over to Mom and Chase, and getting a hold of their memory chips is a little difficult. I promise to resume picture taking very soon.

Chase had the day off yesterday and took Natalie to the park while I was at work. She loves going to the park, and will even cry if we pass it without stopping while on a walk or run. She is growing and changing so much every day. She's taken up to 9 consecutive steps, and can walk just fine, but loses concentration or courage and ultimately ends up crawling. I can't believe that I'll officially have a one-year-old in just 13 days!