Egg-celent!

Like last year, we went back to the same egg grab festival that we went to last year. This year Nicole could attend as well! As I remember last year was warm, a good day, maybe even a bit hot. I dressed the girls in nice spring-y clothes thinking about it. Then, Woody pointed to the thermometer and showed me it was in the 40s. Yikes! It warmed up to about 50, but the wind was whipping like a winter day. And, I had decided not to carry my coat since the girl's stuff loaded me down like a pack mule. But, I wanted that warm coat after we got out of the car. Burr!! I talked Woody into going back into the car for a while after we bought tickets. It was a nice 10 minutes of warm while the kids got ansy, but played in the minivan.

We then got out and melded with the huge crowd ( a lot more people than last year! ). We found the Easter bunny first. Nicole didn't care for him either (just like Clifford I guess, funny dressed up person gets a no from Boo-Boo). But, Natalie had fun getting her Easter bunny picture with Nicole & Woody.

Then, the fun started when Grandma & Grandpa showed up while we were waiting in line for the bouncy. Reinforcements!

Both girls liked the bouncy. Nicole was safe in there for a while, but we had Natalie bring her out when bigger kids got into the bouncy. But, they got a fun time for a couple of minutes!

Then, off to pet animals. The rabbits were probably their favorite to pet, although they petted quite a few animals!

Nicole liked chasing the goats best! We were doing this then heard that the egg grab was about to begin!

Grandma & Grandpa went with Natalie while we stayed with Nicole (different age groups). There were thousands of eggs on the field! Nicole did great and grabbed about a dozen before the bigger kids appeared quickly on the scene. It was probably over in about a minute, it seems!

Natalie found Maggie, her friend, there. It was great they could visit during all the waiting times!

The girls together, enjoying a Tootsie Roll. Most of the eggs held a Tootsie Roll. However, we thought we had opened all of them. You are supposed to check before you leave. When I got home, I found Natalie's had a first place prize ticket in there. Ooops! She would have loved winning something, but that is how it goes!!

We had a great time and loved spending time with Grandma & Grandpa. It made for a really special day!!

Special Visit

We had a very special weekend last weekend. Natalie & Nicole's great grandpa was visiting Grandma & Grandma. So, we loaded up the minivan and headed there for a great time with him. We were able to enjoy pretty weather during our visit, so part of the time was spent fishing in a local pond. Natalie caught the first fish, a good sized catfish! We all had fun casting and catching a few. Nicole was mostly catching dandelions, as that is one of her new thrills. She wants to pick every dandelion that is in the yard! But, she has now found that she likes the seed dandelions even more since you can blow and watch the seeds scatter.
Natalie with her fish!

Here is the four generations together, what a blessing to have everyone spending time together.

We enjoyed staying out in the sunshine together, enjoying some game time with t-ball and kickball.

We are now praying for Great Grandpa as he has suddenly gotten an infection and is in the hospital. Any prayers would be greatly appreciated!!

Each Favorites

I wanted to capture the favorites of each of the girls right now at this stage in their lives...

Nicole
Favorite food - cheese, bread, fruit, pasta. Not much else she will eat except any dessert.
Favorite activity - cross between picking flowers and doing the surprise song. The surprise song is something Natalie taught us from school... you hum a few bars and then have a loud burst note. This "wakes" everyone up and they look surprised.
Favorite outfit - all outfits end up getting dirty. She can get dirty doing almost any activity! It's some kind of talent. I'm trying to loosen up and put little cute outfits on her--might as well!
Favorite loveys - her white diaper cloth (very soft) and little doll. Or, any of Natalie's toys, especially panda.
Favorite item - right now it is chapstick. She has a fetish about chapstick and will try to sneak Natalie's. We have to keep the door closed because of it. I gave her one and she had it wiped down within 30 minutes (no more in the tube!)

Natalie
Favorite food - She likes the sunshine cups (put a buttered slice of bread with no crust in a muffin pan and crack an egg in it & bake). Or the pooh logs (half a hot dog bun with peanut butter and bananas, we put dried cranberries as ants). Anything new that doesn't have ANYTHING green in it. I think eggs will be her favorite for a while.
Favorite activity - picking flowers, any kind of game or make believe
Favorite outfit - she is getting really excited that she can wear skirts and short sleeves again.
Favorite loveys - Pink bear and her dress up doll, Madison. Also the live doll she called Nicole she carries around often.
Favorite item - anything Nicole touches. There can be a toy that is getting cobwebs on it, but when Nicole picks it up, Natalie wants to play with it right then!

They are both great joys and it is fun to see them interacting more and more!

Ode to Freddy

We now have an empty fish tank. Natalie went to feed Freddy tonight at supper and reported he was in the same place as Blackwood was when she passed. So, no pets right now for Natalie. We'll have to get some friends of Freddy for her tank!

Weekend Fun

We've had a good time the past two weekends, even though Woody was at work the first weekend. After weighing the pros and cons, I decided to take the kids to the big event at the library solo. And, I am glad I did especially since we went early and left early! We had fun making bookmarks and then seeing a neat animal show. But, Nicole could only stay seated for so long so we left a little early and went to the character photo area. Natalie was great and wanted to pose with Clifford and Olivia. However, Nicole wanted really nothing to do with any of the characters! She has reached the age of character-phobia. But, here are the pictures:

Nicole actually did try to touch Olivia with me holding her, but wanted not to get near without me. We then went to see the BMX event, but the crowd kept building so I decided we would leave and do the rest of our day. After (unsuccessfully) trying to find a winter coat for Natalie, we went to eat at Chic-fil-A. It was fun lunch time with a purpose...we were then getting ready for dessert. Which, took a change of clothes because we were going to get ice cream on PJ day free! So, we quickly hunkered down and slipped PJs over my clothes and put PJs on the girls. Natalie took a picture of me after getting my PJs on.

Success! Ice cream free on a pretty warm day! It just cannot be topped!!

The girls have spent a lot of time playing together and dressing up together. Here is Snow White and Sleeping Beauty together...

This weekend looked dreary as wet weather pounded us last night. We had to turn grilled hamburger hopes into Manwich burgers as it was pouring! And, so this morning we debated about going anywhere but decided to make a break for the lakehouse. I watched the girls while Woody did some surprise cleanup. We then turned to have some fun in the blessed sunshine together. Which was neat to see Woody and Natalie fishing together. They were having fun!

Nicole was partially interested in fishing, but much more interested in running and taking leaves, and her favorite, sweetgum balls, and tossing them into the water. Also, she loved grabbing anything that was new to her. But, I spent my time walking back & forth on the dock following her. Maybe one day I can fish too! I remember not too long ago I was following Natalie...

And, now she is fishing on her own!

While Nicole still prefers dropping into the water at this point...

We then played a game on the floating dock that we were in a boat, which was fun to Nicole for only a short while but I bet Natalie would have done for a while longer.

We then left but really had a fun day!

Ode to Blackwood

Blackwood Goodwin
1/17/2010 - 3/12/2010

After having supper, playing games including Chutes & Ladders, we went to remind Natalie to feed her fish. Unfortunately, there was a surprise waiting for us...Blackwood was no longer swimming on his own. Yes, Blackwood has gone to fishy heaven. Natalie's first pet passing. We have tried to answer the questions, but at least Woody didn't let her see him flush Blackwood.

Meg Ryan I Ain't

I have been getting rather antsy about my hairstyle. I have been ready for a change. I really thought I would want a shorter cut, and I had kind of the Meg Ryan look in mind. So, I set off for a salon to get this "new look" for myself. I must say I do have more curly hair than Mrs. Ryan. And, I have learned something:

Take a picture with you

My first clue that it might not turn out as I thought was the lady mentioned that she remembered Meg Ryan in "As the World Turns." Not being very soap-savvy, I didn't know that fact. Then, she looked for a picture but didn't find one to start. And, the chopping began...

When it was finished, I didn't really recognize the person in the mirror, but I didn't cry either. I just kept saying in my head, it will grow back...

Natalie had her hair done as well to correct the snips she made herself a few weeks ago. It looked fabulous on her. We went to Bi-Lo afterwards. Natalie said, "Mommy, the people are laughing at you." I asked her why. She said, "Because your hair looks so funny." Ouch.

So, I'm investing in clips, hats, whatever until the growth comes back to a way I can get it fixed. Maybe protein shakes to help it grow?

Way to Go, Natalie!

I am so proud of you, Natalie! After several years of biting your fingernails, you have stopped! After trying everything from coersion, medication, and downright dislike for it, she stopped pretty much as a surprise. I just left it alone with a prayer, and here she is with pretty fingernails. Sweetie, you deserve Mommy to paint your nails every week now...



We had her best friend, Elysia, over this past week. Unfortunately it was snowing outside kind of a strange snow. It was too cold and yucky to stay outside for long. So, inside was the activity. After lunch, the girls donned costumes and ran around the house using their imaginations...

Even Nicole joined in on the fun. The girls didn't want their pictures made, so the pictures don't look posed at all...

In fact, they look kind of strained and unhappy...but, they were having fun!

They did try outside for a while, but decided it was not good weather. You couldn't swing or anything! So, we went back inside...

And played Barbies!

The only bad thing was Nicole had to go down for a nap & she didn't want to at all...she wanted to play with the big girls. And, it is no paci time, so she didn't cooperate at all. But, it still was a great visit.

Toddler Protest

This week, Nicole has really put on the crying and fussing to protest the removal of her little friend (the pacifier). At night, we've had up to 1 hour of cries and screams for the pacifier. Naptimes have been even more fussy (I guess because she is less tired).

Wednesday she completely protested the nap. All items thrown out of the crib several times to protest. Items "requested" to be put into the crib. I tried sending Natalie in there with her sleeping bag to give her a clue that I was really wanting her to sleep. After that she took off her socks and threw them out of the crib.

Today she was protesting, but I was tired. I laid down to take a quick nap, during which she fell asleep. When I peeked in on her a few minutes later, she had thrown everything out of her crib, plus taken off her shirt in protest and thrown it out! I laid a blanket over her little body and she slept well until she woke up. We could then put the shirt back on!

One funny note during this week was the night we had a fire. She had gotten her pants dirty outside, so I was letting her run around without the jeans (it was close to bath time). She was having fun and running around. She has been pretending to go potty for a while now by getting on the toilet and...just putting paper in there, no other things (not ready yet). But, she definitely has figured out how to take off the diaper because she started pulling it off and laughing as I ran behind her trying to put it back on!

Hopefully after this week the pacifier will be a distant memory and we'll get over these protesting times!!

Cold Turkey

While Nicole & Woody were escaping to the mountains on Saturday, Nicole fell a couple of times and really busted her little lip. Other than that, they had a great time and returned happily after the fun in the outdoors.

However, by Sunday night it was apparent the lip was not healing very well. Upon consultation, we decided our treatment with normal antibiotic ointment was good, but the pacifier was hindering the healing. So, last night was spent without a pacifier for Nicole at night. She took it predictably by yelling at the top of her lungs for quite a while. I escaped to a shower while Woody monitored. She finally fell asleep and did sleep all night (PTL!).

However, today I have had to pretend like I do not understand her little words and motions for a pacifier. All pacifiers have been confiscated and locked up where she cannot find them (at least the ones that I could find). She happened to find one somewhere and it was removed from her presence.

Today at nap was the same story as last night. She just can't understand why her little friend that has been so faithful has been removed from her. Once the lip is healed, I know we are not going to find these again because I can't take the removal again!!