A life of blessings...: November 2011

November 2011

Natalie had a big fun time at Dick and LaLa's the weekend before her birthday. Nick was out of town for the District MS Youth Gathering, so Natalie and I headed to Tampa for a visit and to get some Christmas shopping taken care of. I have had to plan WAY in advance this year. It feels weird shopping for Christmas in October and November, but it had to be done. I am about 95% done! I still can't bring myself to put up decorations until after Thanksgiving, though. So, it will either be done this weekend, or next, depending on when Laura makes her big arrival. Natalie is very excited to be a big sister. I hope she stays excited once the baby actually comes. :)

Natalie turned 3 on 11.11.11! I can't believe it has already been three years. She has brought so much love and joy to our lives. I can't imagine it without her. As you can see, one of her gifts was a princess crown of her own. :) As you can see, she liked it.

She got some super cute outfits from Gran and PawPaw. She LOVED them and wanted to try them on right away.

Her birthday party took place the next day - Saturday. It was a fun time, and Dick, LaLa, and cousin Jen and Andrew came over for the festivities as well.

Our big girl!

October 2011

Natalie got her very first hair cut this month. She was excellent! She sat as still as a statue and did everything the hair dresser asked her to do. She was really excited to get two Hersheys kisses afterwards. :)

For Halloween, Natalie was a fairy princess....naturally. She is SUCH a girly girl. Anything pink, purple, poofy, sparkly, or ruffly, she is all about. Right now, she is really into princesses, ballerinas, and ponys. She definitely didn't get that from me! It is fun to see her as her own little person. Like the last couple of years, we headed over to our friend's house with the rest of the St. Paul clan and trick or treated. It was fun, organized chaos as usual. :)Earlier in the day, she stopped by my work and trick or treated around my office building. It was just about the greatest day ever for her - she got to wear her fairy princess dress, everyone told her how cute and beautiful she was, and then they gave her treats! :)

Concordia Beach Week 2011 - September

This year, we had our 3rd annual Concordia Beach trip. The last two years we have gone to Anna Maria Island, but this year, we were in Destin. The clan consisted of 8 adults and 8 children 7 and under! Our group just continues to grow. We had a great time as usual, and I was very thankful that each family had their own room. It's nice to just be able to get away from the action for a few minutes if you need to. There was a lot of jelly fish out, but fortunately, they weren't the really bad ones. If you got stung, it only itched for a few minutes, and it was over. As the week went on, we saw less and less. The kids did great and loved the ocean!
Before we got to Destin, we stayed the night in Panama City and took Natalie put put golfing for the first time. We all had a fun time. :)

One thing I will not forget is Natalie and the crown. Maddi Perkins had brought a toy princess crown, and Natalie was like the kid with the rain boots all week. She wore it EVERYWHERE...including the beach. It was hilarious!

The kids loved to race home. Unfortunately, it looks like Natalie inheritted my "slow" gene - I don't think a track star will be on her list of HS accomplishments. :)