Lots of pics

So serious about his "laptop"
FISH FACE!

I see me!

his sweet, toothy grin

playing in his crib

the pretty (precocious) princess

BUBBLES!

Natalie loves bubbles

Lobster Boy!

She is Princess Ariel for Halloween (Ariel's wedding dress)

with our ribbons at the Special Olympics Bowling Tournament

This sign used to say "All Menu Items under 700 Billion", but when I returned to take a picture, this was the new sign. I would have to agree!

Lots of pictures for everyone! All is okay in our neck o' the woods. Natalie is ill with ear infection and high fever. She's been sick for days, poor thing! I wasn't able to take her to T-Ball or to the Monster Mash due to her illness, and she was so looking forward to them. She is on antibiotics and hopefully will be better soon. Ryan has figured out how to crawl up the stairs, which scares mommy and daddy! He is never out of our sight, thank goodness. He likes to say "Ooooooo" and "Ohhhhhhh" now. This morning when he awakened, he smiled and said, "hiiiiiii." Twas so cute! Ryan also has a fever, so pray for our babies. Daniel and I are doing well. We are going to be Auntie and Uncle again (his sister) and couldn't be more excited! I, personally, cherish being an aunt and can't wait to spoil yet another niece/nephew! Luke, Mikey, and I participated in a bowling tournament for Special Olympics on Saturday. It was so much fun! I was partnered with Mikey and Luke was partnered with a young man named Mark. Luke and Mark received third place in their division, and Mikey and I received first place in our division. Mikey even got a trophy! He was so proud! My parents will celebrate 29 years of marriage tomorrow. Congrats to them! I am so proud of them for sticking to their vows, "for better or for worse." So many people today are just too eager to throw in the towel. Hope this finds everyone doing well. Be safe this Halloween weekend. Love to everyone! God bless!

Corn

Cool Weather, Cool Times

The weather is changing here in the deep south. The mornings are cooler and I find myself dressing the kids in warmer clothing. Autumn is now upon us and it is beautiful.

Natalie was invited to a farm this past weekend called Red Bluff Farm. It was opened up to visitors, mostly for the children. She went with her friend, Parker, and his family. They had so much fun! They were able to pet the baby chicks, pet and feed cows, chase chickens, learn about where milk comes from...an overall educational and fun experience. Natalie couldn't stop talking about it. I will be including a video from the farm of Natalie shucking corn after this is posted. She is our little diva. In fact, when people ask her age I tell them she is three years old going on diva. LOL! She is quite entertaining, that is for sure. We had our first visitor to our new place, my friend, Kelly. Natalie tried to monopolize the conversations, either interrupting or stepping in front of me when I was speaking to Kelly. I wasn't deterred nor too frustrated. I found it to be a learning experience for her. Besides, what would getting upset do when she was just being a child? She was excited to have company and wanted to showcase herself (she performed all of the sign language she knows). I know so many parents who just get upset with their kids instead of realizing the opportunity they have to teach. It's like they expect their child to just know what to do. Sorry, but kids don't come with built in knowledge. Like a computer, we have to install programs (like Manners 2.0) and constantly update. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a perfect parent and I have my days where patience is non-existent. But it is vital to tap into our selfless, patient side so that we may better perform as parents. I'm off my soapbox now, I swear! In other Natalie news, she is half-way through T-Ball. We had team pictures done last week and I can't wait to post those!

Ryan is growing and growing like good babies do. He is nine months old now and oh so fun! He is trying to walk and it makes mommy sad. He just zooms around in his walker, smiling and laughing. It seems he is finished with the soldier crawl, opting for the big boy crawl. He pulls up on everything and is into everything. And, of course, everything goes into his mouth! Yikes! His new discovery is with his face. He now makes a fish face. Too funny! That picture will be posted later. Cute! He is 19 pounds and 29.25 inches long. He is average weight but very tall. His hair is getting longer and starting to curl, which mommy just loves! Daniel just sighs, since he had a head full of wavy hair as a youngster. Like father, like son, eh? =)

As for Daniel and me, we just take it day by day. Sales are down everywhere and the automotive world is no exception. Business has been slow, but they will be putting on a huge sale this week so hopefully things will pick back up. I continue to enjoy my job. I work with really nice people and manage good employees. I thank the Lord often that I am blessed to have a job where the kids can be with me. Daniel's and my dating anniversary is coming up in December and will mark five years that we've been together. Wow! I can't believe we've withstood each other this long. Crazy! My parents are good, my brothers are good, all is good! And we hope all is good in your world, too!

Long Time No Post

Natalie gazing at the animals
Nana feeds the camel while Sophia pets the nose
Look at that tongue!
Sophia and Natalie feeding the Llamas
All those different animals! Beautiful!

Happy Happy, Joy Joy!
In their jammies with their sippies
Tea Party with Uncle Mikey
Sweet Sophie!
Standing like a big boy!

It's been a while since my last post and I apologize. Much has happened. Daniel and I have moved into our new home. It's an adjustment but we are getting used to the new place. We are still living out of boxes because we both work and hardly have time to organize our lives. We try to do a little each day. With as much stuff as I have we'll be moving in until Christmas!

Natalie is having fun in her new place. She likes to tell people she has a new room. She is still playing T-Ball and having so much fun! She is getting better every week. She manages to 'catch' a ground ball every game, which makes her so proud. She is also getting better at holding the bat. It's a good opportunity to teach her some life lessons, such as taking turns and good sportsmanship. She is very much looking forward to Halloween since Daniel and I have purchased her costume. She asks to wear it every day. There will be some opportunities to wear it later this month to some parties and to an annual fundraiser here called Monster Mash. She is such a beautiful little girl and we are so blessed to call her our own. She is getting to be so smart and we couldn't be more proud!

Ryan is getting bigger every day. He has his nine month checkup this week so I will be posting that info over the weekend. He has a mouth full of teeth and the cutest little grin. He hasn't been sleeping well lately since the move, but I expected that since he is out of his element. He does his big boy crawl all the time now, only scooting if he wants to get somewhere in a hurry (he is still faster on his tummy). He has started finger foods and loves feeding himself. It's messy but so cute to watch. I remember how sweet it was to watch Natalie grow and develop and it's just as fun this time around. Ryan hasn't added any new sounds yet, but he will say "mama" and "dada" and giggles most of the time. We are working on the word Papa. He absolutely loves his sister. His face lights up every time he sees her. She gets excited as well and announces "Look, mom! He loves me!" Ryan is into everything! He is fascinated with water, especially running water, so bath time is a favorite for him. If he hears water running, he will practically jump out of your arms looking for the sound and where it's coming from. Ryan now waves and likes to pat faces. Yesterday, here at my parents' house, I asked him if he wanted to rub noses (because he does that now) and he looked at my mom and grabbed her nose! Twas cute! He has his first Halloween costume and we can't wait to post pictures!

As you can tell from the pictures above, we have had some fun times in our busy lives. Sophia was here for a week and it was a wonderful visit. She is precious and I can hardly wait until she returns! She is such a sweet little girl. She and Natalie played hard all week and are the best of friends. They play so well together. Natalie likes being the "Big Sister". She and Sophia would do their squeals any time they had the chance, which made for some very noisy days, but at the same time it was such a wonderful sound...a happy, carefree, innocent sound that burst from their tiny bodies, reflecting the joy in their hearts. Sophia, though, is rather fascinated with Ryan. She will smack him on the head and say "bonk". He just gives her a funny look and keeps on going. She even crawled up to him and gave him a good head butt, saying "bonk". It was funny! Nana and the girls were invited to the Global Wildlife Center by some friends of ours. You get to ride in a covered wagon and feed the animals. They had so much fun! My favorite part of the week was hearing Sophia call me "Zia", which is the word "aunt" in Italian. Warms my heart!