A Small Recommendation

I've done a bunch of posts tonight and reading them will likely make more sense if you click on the post titled "Pink Ears" and then read up.

But go backwards if you want.

It's totally up to you.

Big Animals . . . Not So Much

Disneyland is full of opportunities to scare your child by forcing them to pose with very large animals.

Some children run right up to these creatures and hug them.

My daughter did not.



Luckily there was Jello to distract her from the large chipmunk hovering over her.



And friends Ava and Maya to save her from the large strange mouse.

But really, lets keep the animals flying in circles or going up and down (like Dumbo and the carousel). None of this walking and hugging thing.

Horses, Horses, Horses

The carousel was a HUGE hit when we were at Disneyland. I truly can't count the number of times we rode on that thing. Natalia loved it.

Really, she did. She may not look it, but the child threw a FIT the first time we had to get off.

She soon learned that we only had to walk around to the front before getting back on

(which we did something like 18 times)

Ava loved it.



At first Natalia liked it because of the horses. Then she liked it because of the wind blowing in her face. Finally she became entranced by the mechanism that makes the horse go up and down.

She spent one entire ride looking up and chanting "Up . . . Down . . . Up . . . Down . . ."

Opa was so proud. "That's my little engineer."

Dumbo

One of the first rides that we went on was the Dumbo Ride. Now I don't know about you, but I remembered absolutely nothing about the little kids rides. Ava couldn't wait to go on Dumbo, and Natalia liked that there were a lot of elephants going up and down, around and around, but she had no idea what to expect.

She may look a little concerned, but she fell in love with that ride. All weekend it was either Dumbo or the carousel.

Dumbo and the carousel.

Dumbo and the carousel.

Carousel

Carousel

Carousel

We did ride on the Rockets as well, which she loved (because it was like Dumbo).

But we always went back to Dumbo and "horses".

Pink Ears

We went to Disneyland with Ava and family (mom Danielle, dad Courtney, and aunt Dara) a couple weeks ago and Natalia and I had a wonderful, exhausting, character-filled weekend.




This was the set of ears that she picked out. For someone who thought they were going to have a rough and tumble child, I sure do bring home a lot of pink and sparkles. Natalia was given her choice of ears at the Mad Hatter's Shoppe and she picked out the only set of ears that was all pink and had a veil and rhinestone tiara attached.

It's so Ooohhh, La, La.

It Has Been Too Long

I've been getting complaints about my lack of blogging. I apologize. Life got totally crazy, and with no sign of it slowing down I decided that I needed to take the plunge. Somehow find a way to work posting back into my life. And so, with cold medicine surging through my veins, wind whipping around the house, and a warm bed calling me, I sit here at the computer trying to think of where to begin. So much has happened since the last post.

The real estate investment firm I started began buying up, rehabbing, and renting out houses.

We went to Disneyland with Danielle and Ava (and Courtney, Danielle's husband, and Dara, Danielle's sister). Natalia fell in love with the Dumbo ride and the carousel. I get dizzy thinking about it. (Photos will be posted, never fear.

Natalia started really talking. They are full sentences, four to five words at a time. She no longer repeats the response I whisper in her ear. Instead she initiates conversations, repeats phrases at the correct time. One of her newest and most favorite sentences is:

"Do it by self"

Everything is "Do it by SELF!"

Another favorite is:

"Want some Mama?"

and if I don't respond quickly enough

"Hmmm?"

When I finally say, "Yes, please" she replies, "Okay. . . Just one" and holds up one pudgy little finger.

We ate about 24 Teddy Grams this way - one at at time. "Want some? Hmmmm? Okay, just one." It is just too cute.

She has also started sleeping with books. Yup - my child is not even two and she is already hiding books under her covers. Every night she gets to take one thing with her to bed. And every night for the past week she has chosen "Abby Book". Abby Book is a Sesame Street counting book with Abby the fairy monster on the front. It was given to her by one of her aunts and she is OBSESSED with it. Can't sleep without it. I personally can't see how she does it. It is hard cardboard and big. But she clutches it in one hand, holds my hand with her other hand, says her prayers, and falls asleep. Without Abby all is lost.

Just Say No . . .

. . . to brushes. This is what happens when you brush curly hair:


Actually I didn't even brush it. It was pulled back from her face all day and when she ripped out the rubber band, this was the result.

How long do you think it will take her to buy a straightener?

So Silly

Natalia has some new favorites.

When crying: "Oh Buggy"

(One of her nicknames is Buggy. Don't ask me why. The phrase is accompanied with a shaking of the head and is generally only used when she is have a temper tantrum (or winding down from one). But the crying, referring to herself in the third person, and the pitiful sound of her voice is just precious.)

When she has hurt herself: "Ice . . . Whale Ice."

(We have reusable plastic ice cubes in different shapes that she likes to put on her ouchie. Favorites are the whale shaped one and the bunch of bananas one. Hence, whale ice)

At something surprising: "Oh Gosh" and "How Bout That"

(Papa would be so proud)

Upon picking up my purse (or anything resembling a purse) and putting it on her shoulder: "Have Fun! See you soon."
Then she'll walk out the door to whatever room we are in, close the door, turn around and knock:
"Hello . . . Who's there?"
Open the door, come back in, and say "Hi . . . Good bye. Have fun! See you soon."
(This game is repeated at least 5 times.)

In reaction to anything Nana does: "Silly Nana . . . so silly Nana."
(Again, this is generally accompanied with a shake of the head and a smile.)

Once Upon A Time . . .

Once upon a time there was sunshine, and blue sky, and days at the park with Ava.

We spent the afternoon climbing

And sliding

And playing with Mommy's camera.

And it was wonderful!!!

How Do You Hide Vegetables?

Natalia has not been the best eater in the world. She LOVED to nurse, but food - not so much. (Seriously, are we sure this is my daughter?) The child lives on fruit, chicken and cheese. Not the most well rounded diet in the world.

I decided to try and "hide" vegetables in food that she may or may not eat. Let's be realistic here. She will likely not eat it. In fact, she will most likely take one look and then spit out her tongue, shake her head (she loves to feel her hair whip across her face) and start chanting "NO." So this whole "hiding vegetables in food so Natalia will have a well rounded diet" is really nothing more than a way for me to mush up food, make fun colored pasta, and try and get myself to eat more vegetables.

But I digress.

As I was saying, I was trying to get Natalia to eat more vegetables. I had made some spinach-carrot brownies earlier in the day (quite good) and had some beet puree left over beet puree from something or other. So I decided to make beet-spinach gnocchi.

Natalia really wanted to help.

Please, Mamma, please can I help

So she got to help.

And what a helper she was. After asking for a "tiny spoon" she decided to fill an empty ice cube tray with the gnocchi mixture. I think that she got at least half of the tray full.

Thirty minutes later we all sat down for dinner. I dished her up her regular tray of pears, cheese, and chicken but added a little gnocchi this time. Did she eat any of it?

Are you kidding me!?!? Of course not!!! (But it sure was fun to feed to Odin.)

Does she like to eat Play-doh that is the same color? But of course!!!

How about quarters, plastic eggs or Odin's toys. Yum yum.

What about pink gnocchi? Yuck, don't make me puke!!!!

Oh well. At least I got my vegetables for the day.