When Daddy is away, the kids will play!

Todd is away at a conference in Hilton Head, South Carolina, so my mom has come up to visit and help with the kids.  It couldn't have come at a better time, because both kids are sick.  Natalie has had a crazy cough since her birthday (you do the math there).  She is doing pretty well but the cough sounds nasty.  I judge Natalie's illnesses by her crankiness, and she's been mildly cranky.  She has definitely been worse. 

Grant on the other hand, has hand, foot and mouth disease, we think.  Or the doctor thinks.  He had the spots in the back of his throat, but it looked like they were just starting to sprout, so to speak.  So she couldn't be 100% sure.  His fever was up to 103.   And H, F & M is a summer sickness.  And he's too little to get strep throat.  I think that kids usually can't get that until they're about 18 months old.  So they were pretty confident that he had H, F & M.  We had to take the kids to the urgent care on Saturday, which is in Framingham, and happens to be in the same entrance as the emergency room at the hospital.  I still don't get what the difference is- they are suppose to "fast track" you if you tell them you're there for urgent care.  We were still there for over 2 hours!  The cutest thing happened- when the doctor was looking at the back of Grant's throat, he was crying, and it upset Natalie, so she started crying too.  Such a loving big sister.  So Nana is here and we are having fun, but we miss Daddy and can't wait for him to come back on Friday!!!

Grant's top teeth are coming in and he has the biggest gap between his two front teeth!  It's hilarious!  I think his frenulum is attached to his gum line (like, really low) so I probably should talk to a dentist about that, but he's so funny with this big space between his teeth!!!

Very rarely does Natalie smile normal... she looks so pretty and sweet in this picture.

What 'chu talkin' 'bout Willis???  Silly boy...

5th of July Parade

This year, the Natick 4th of July parade was held on the 5th of July.  We didn't take many pictures. It was insanely hot out, and we forgot the diaper bag at home, which Todd had to run back and get, so that made us all a little grumpy.  And of course, this happens after we are running late anyway (hey, we have 2 kids- we are ALWAYS running late!)  But we enjoyed the Kiwanis pancake breakfast again this year before the parade.  Right after we ate, the parade had just made it's way onto East Central, so we got to go outside and see the beginning, which was Natalie's favorite part last year - with about 20 firetrucks.  

 This year, it was a little loud for her, but we gave both kids earplugs.  It also happened to be snack attack time for Grant. 

We also met up with the Kelley family to enjoy some of the parade (Jackson and Samantha and their mommy and daddy, Chris and Tiffany, and Chris's parents, who live in Natick). Tiffany gave Natalie a little mini bottle of water, and really, you would have thought she gave the girl a diamond ring. Between that and the Dora and Diego characters that were in the parade, that is all Natalie could talk about. Oh, and the Kelley's gave Natalie the beautiful dress and hair bows that she wore on the 4th of July too. Honestly, the kid was a rock star in this dress. We must have gotten at least 10-15 compliments about it.  One lady even told me (oddly), "It's so nice to see little girls wearing dresses." As if little girls never wear dresses?  Anyway, doesn't she seem so big in the picture below?  She spilled very little of the water on her, so I was really impressed.  Mostly she still uses sippy cups.  Not because she can't drink out of a real cup, but because she will walk around with a real cup and not think and tip it over.

Here's a shot of my three favorite people, below.  Nice faces Grant and Natalie.  Oh well, at least Daddy looks cute!

Natalie and Grant's first train ride

Natalie is obsessed with trains.  She loves playing with trains, and she most especially loves greeting me everyday at my train station.  Everyday she says, "Mommy you're train is SO FAST!" as she watches it pull out of the Natick train station, heading west.  She has lots of questions about the train too- such as, "Was your train loud?" and "Did you look out the window?"

So we decided to head into Boston on the 4th of July on the commuter rail.  We left from West Natick- and here is a picture of Natalie as the loud honking train was approaching.

And here are my kiddos on the train.  You can see Natalie is very excited.  Grant would rather eat his book.

We took the train all the way in to Back Bay and walked to Copley Square.  Natalie was very excited about going to the Boston Public Library... until we realized it was not only the 4th of July, but it was a Sunday so the place was closed.  Queue grumpy 3-year-old.  She was very upset that the library was closed.  The day before, we wanted to go to the Natick library but it was closed too.  So she whined, "Why do they keep closing the library???"  Instead, we walked over to the fountains in Copley Square.  She liked these.

Here are Todd and Natalie pointing at the fountains.  Afterward, we walked over to the Prudential Building. 

We wanted to go to the Summer Shack for lunch, but they didn't open until 11:30 and we had to catch and 12:50 train back home. If we were going to McDonalds or Panera, this *MIGHT* be sufficient time. Natalie is quite possibly the world's slowest eater. EVER. So we axed that idea and then tried to go to the Cheesecake Factory, which usually opens at 11. Not on the 4th of July! It opened at noon. So, it was off to the Pru Food Court.  After lunch, we had a grumpy baby and a long, hot walk back to Back Bay station, but Natalie had a good time, and that is all that really matters!

Natalie's 3 year statistics - UNOFFICIAL

Well, I thought I had Natalie's 3 year appointment this past week.  I'm POSITIVE that I called and made the appointment. I specifically remember talking to the woman about how I wanted it AFTER Natalie's birthday party weekend.  But now that I think about it, I think that maybe she said they didn't have the appointment book ready that far in advance and that I would have to call back at some point, which I clearly never did. So her 3 year appointment is actually now at the end of August.  Boo, Mommy.  So Todd and I did the best we could and weighed and measured her at home.

Height: 37 and 3/4 inches (58th percentile, according to about.com's pediatric page, although another page had 67th percent)

Weight: 33.2 lbs (75th percentile)

So that is pretty much on track with how she has always been.  I'll be sure to post the "official" status in late August!

Natalie's first gymnastics class

Since Nana was in the kitchen cooking up a storm on Saturday morning, and was home to keep an eye on Grant and to put him down for his morning nap, Todd and I both got to go see Natalie in her first ever gymnastics class. It was SO freaking cute.  Only one parent is allowed in with the kids, but Todd got to hang out in the viewing room and take pictures.  Pardon the blurriness of these.  She was a fast runner!  (And they were taken through glass).  First, we ran around for free play.  Natalie really liked the trampolines.  And we all know her favorite color is green.  So she hijacked the green one.

She wasn't really into the foam pit, which you can see in the background.  She got in once and took about 2 steps and asked to get out.  She did test out the rope swing though (the teacher was in the pit helping her out).  She didn't care for that either, but at least she tried it.

After free time, we went into the smaller gym and did an obstacle course and learned how to do a "safety landing."  Each week they teach them how to do one thing.  So it's structured, but not too much for a 3 year old.  So when we had to leave, she cried and cried, but the good news is - we get to come back next Saturday!

Fun at Org Day

Org Day at the Natick Solider Systems Center (where Todd works) was held this past Friday and I took the day off so we could all go!  My parents flew in Thursday evening so they got to go see where Todd works, and we got to see Todd presented with an award for contributions to the Combined Federal Campaign, which is the US Government's annual workplace charity campaign.  He got a really nice sketch drawing of a building in Boston (pardon me for not knowing - it has a cool history behind it, so let me go find out more and I'll blog about it later).  Then we were off to have some fun! 

First, we went to see Daddy's office.  Natalie had to type up a brief for the general here in this picture.

Then, Natalie got her face painted by a soldier.  The problem here was that the paint was brown and she was in the middle of eating a chocolate ice cream cone.  Army paint is non toxic, right???

Next, Natalie went on her first pony ride!  She loved it!  Daddy walked along side her. 

Next, she did not enjoy the bouncy house.  There were a lot of bigger kids (ie: 5-7 years old) in there and they were making it too bouncy for her.  This worried me a bit since we had just bought her a bouncy house castle!  (See previous birthday party post!)  Thankfully, she LOVED her own bouncy castle.

Meanwhile, Pop Pop got a little Grant time in.

I LOVE this picture.  I think that they look alike here- especially around the mouth. They are so cute!!! After we played games and had ice cream, we got hot dogs and hamburgers, along with pasta salad and chips.  A good time was had by all, but Natalie was sad to leave.  This is a phase we are going through- anytime we have to leave something fun, she has a crying fit.  A good time was had at Org Day regardless!

A wild week of birthday parties - Part 2

Birthday party part deux... This past Saturday, we had Natalie's second birthday party of the week.  We invited a bunch of her friends and had all kind of fun with the new bouncy house we bought, along with a slip and slide, a kiddie pool, hot dogs, hamburgers, cake, and Hoodsie cups.  WHEW.  Let me add to that: Nana cooked up a storm the morning of a party and made homemade potato salad, baked beans, deviled eggs, and Rice Krispie treats.  YUM. 

Natalie and her best friend from Maureen's - Gaby, in the bouncy house.

Alex walking up the slide to the bouncy house.  This thing was a HUGE hit.

The Wilmington crew - Rob, Kern, Mike, Dorothy, and Nadia. 

Daddy cutting cake with the kids around him.  L to R, around the table:  Sophia, Sabrina, Todd, Natalie, Jen, Gaby, Will, Brady, Jacquie, Alex, and Lisa.

Jackson, Sami, Annabel and Natalie laughing as they eat Rice Krispie squares!

Jonathan joined the kids with his juice box.

Jonathan went to finish his juice box, and the kids kept on laughing.  Rice Krispie treats must be pretty funny!

Daddy and the big man!

Nana and the big man!

Natalie says, "There's no room for me!"  Will, Jackson, Jonathan, and Sami enjoyed time in the kiddie pool.  I'm sure Tiff was thrilled that the twins got in with their clothes on!  (Jackson got in with his flip flops on too!)

A good time was had by all. It was actually super successful, beyond my wildest imagination.  There were no injuries, and everyone had a blast!  It was so much fun, I'm going to start planning next year's party ... if we still live here that is.  The backyard is what made the party so successful!

Cute baby alert, part III

Grant got ahold of one of Natalie's pretend food turkey legs and was SO cute one evening after dinner. 

A wild week of birthday parties - Part 1

We had 2, count 'em 2, birthday parties for Natalie in a week.  One was on her actual birthday last Sunday, and we invited all of Todd's family.  Grammi, Bean, Nauni, LuLu, KK, Madison, and Seth were all in attendance.  We were also lucky enough to get a visit from the Bruce's!  Tricia and Brandon were our friends when we lived in Virginia.  We met them when we took dance class lessons before our wedding.  They were in town for Tricia's work, and stopped by for the party with their sweet baby girl Sonoma.  Todd grilled out chicken and beef kabobs and we had a delicious strawberry salad with homemade dressing (made by Grammi) and potato salad, along with the obligatory birthday cake.  Here are some of my favorite pics:

Natalie getting ready to blow out the candles on her birthday cake

Seth looked like he had a chocolate goatee here. I think I know what he will look like in 15 years!

Sonoma was flirting with Grant and he was more interested in his pacifier!  SO funny!!!

There was a brief thunderstorm that brought us all inside, but after the storm, we saw an awesome rainbow in our backyard!  It began and ended there.  It was so pretty.  Is it good luck to have a rainbow on your birthday?

The finished backyard project

I keep meaning to post about our finished backyard weeding/mulching project.  I already posted the "before" picture, but here it is again.  

And here is the after picture.  In fact, it's even prettier now.  The taller green plants have sprouted pretty yellow flowers (daffodils, I think... but seriously, I know nothing about plants).  Oh, and the dog in the picture below is Skye, our neighbor's dog.  (Are you insane thinking we got a dog?  I can barely handle 2 kids, so don't even think for one minute I would throw another child into the mix!  Because pets are like children and that would be way too much work.  Maybe when Natalie is 8...)