Why Andi and Natalie can't play together

Little background info: Natalie's teachers at school reward good behavior with stickers, so Mom has been giving Natalie stickers too. She really loves them, what kid doesn't?

Those of you that know my family know that Andi and Natalie have to be separated most of the time. They absolutely cannot be around each other if there is food or something else Andi really loves (like my Mom) out. Poor Andi has had to live in "Andi Jail" for the last year or so. It's really not that bad of a set up, she has her own room, her own futon and all her food, water and toys. She also spends all of Natalie's sleeping time out and about as well as anytime we're out of the house, so don't feel too sorry for her. Anyway, slowly but surely I've been letting Natalie and Andi have a little play time together. I guess Andi was a really good girl this morning:


Funniest part of all of this... I didn't find poor Andi in all her sticker glory for a few hours. I didn't notice as I was running out the door to take Natalie to school this morning and after I dropped her off I ran to the grocery store. It wasn't until I got home that I noticed her condition. I found even more stickers in her bed. Poor dog, she's a good sport.

One of my greatest fears are...

Tornadoes.

I'm not kidding. Tornadoes literally induce a state of panic in me. I couldn't sit through the movie "Twister" when it was in theaters, I refused to ride the "Twister" ride at Universal Studios. I have recurring tornado dreams, usually where I'm running from one, especially if I'm going through something particularly stressful or worrisome. Every time there's a thunderstorm or weird weather I start checking the updates every five minutes or so... just in case.

Last year I heard of WRAL's weather alert phone call program. For $8 a year you can sign up to receive a phone call in the event you're in the direct path of a tornado. Naturally I jumped at this opportunity knowing I would most likely never receive a phone call.

"Never" came early Tuesday morning. At 6:45 a.m. the phone rang, I answered and was greeted by a recording of our local meteorologist's pleasant voice saying "Take cover immediately". A wave of sheer horror washed over me and as I ran towards Natalie's room I felt as if I was in a dream. You know the ones where your legs just won't move? It felt like it took me an hour to reach her.

We ran downstairs and she watched patiently as I quickly emptied our utility closet, I shoved her in and I shut the door. We got the "all clear" a short ten minutes later and fortunately there was no damage anywhere near us. My poor Granddad was without power for several hours, though.

The tornado touched down at 6:44 a.m. I am immensely thankful that WRAL got the warning out to me in under one minute. We were very lucky and I can't stop thinking about how $8 could have saved our lives.

Apparently I did a really good job of hiding my fears, Natalie thought our morning camp out in the closet was a blast and wouldn't come out after!

I need a cookie!

All good things must come to an end

We had to leave the beach today, and I'm pretty sure Natalie will be heartbroken forever. At least she left in style:



Natalie does not like the car wash. At all.

My little beach bum

29 v 29

I tend to think maternity pictures are awkward and weird and as a result I literally have one picture of my belly from when I was pregnant with Natalie. I was 29 weeks and took it as a joke for my friend Heather who always laughs at the typical hands-on-hips-while-thrusting-belly-forward pictures. Anyway, I thought it would be fun to continue the tradition, so here I am 29 weeks with Nick and 29 weeks with Natalie. Which belly do you think is bigger? I think Natalie.

Nick:

Natalie:

Fort Fisher Aquarium

We've had an incredibly eventful beach trip! We've gone to farmers market, eaten doughnuts, ridden on boats, played on the beach (which, by the way, was significantly better than I had anticipated) and gone to the Fort Fisher Aquarium. Natalie has been such a good girl and we're having a lot of fun. Begin photo bomb:

Ferry Ride

We're at the beach this weekend and all Natalie can talk about is playing in the ocean, eating doughnuts and riding the ferry boat, which I'm pretty certain she thinks is the FAIRY boat. So far we've had doughnuts and gone on the boat... I'm dreading playing outside because I'm all pregnant and junk and chasing Natalie is really hard work.

First Day of School

Today was the day I have been dreading. Even though I knew that Natalie would thrive in a "school" environment, I just couldn't stand the thought of leaving my baby girl with anyone other than family. I mean, this child has never been to day care and has had only one babysitter other than my mother in the almost two years she's been alive. Even then Chase and I asked for the babysitter (a friend of mines sister in law) to come over and meet/play with Natalie a few days before the actual babysitting day... which, by the way, lasted all of two hours. I don't know why I was worried, Natalie has always been a trooper and has never really seemed to suffer much, if any, separation anxiety (except when my Mother leaves the house, then all hell breaks loose).

When I woke Natalie up this morning (which was like waking a teenager) she immediately starting talking about going to school. She said "Nanayee go school, play toys, school fun!" Her excitement was overwhelming, I was happy she was looking forward to her big day and at the same time I was sad that my baby is becoming so independent. We got dressed and headed out the door.

Her class was starting their day on the playground, which I thought was brilliant. Most of the children were so enticed by the outdoor toys that they barely noticed their parents walking away. The preschool encourages the parent to give their child a loving and sincere goodbye, the theory being that eventually your child will trust you're coming back for them and therefore not cry; for many parents it's tempting to sneak away. As we walked up Natalie was greeted by her teacher and I had to struggle with her to get my goodbye in... she was ready to go, and away she went without a second thought. I walked away fighting the urge to turn around and choking back tears.

During Natalie's school day I went to the gym, took a long shower (without anyone pulling back the shower curtain and trying to get in with me, or emptying the entire contents of my bathroom cabinet), did laundry and got busy with some serious nesting. Nick's room is really coming along! Before I knew it, it was time to go get Natalie!

She got a wonderful report from her teachers. They said she was "marvelous", well behaved and kind. She only got upset once and that was when they lined up in their "train" to go outside again. They sang a little goodbye song and Natalie ran to me with open arms all smiles. She made three pieces of art, one of which tears my heart to shreds. It's her little handprint with a poem that reads "This is my hand. My hand will do one thousand loving things with you. You will remember when I am tall... That once my hand was just this small." Ouch. I used to think my Mother was a lunatic for saving all the tattered and yellowed "artwork" I made as a child, and now just glancing at Natalie's tiny handprint turns me into a blubbering idiot.

I know this is only the beginning, the book bags will get heavier, the days longer and the things that upset her at school will become more challenging; I feel so blessed that God has given me this beautiful challenge of being her mother.