|
| That is the question. Whether it is nobler in the mind to suffer the formatting and wait time or to take another blog at blogspot. You can visit my blogspot blog at http://the-cameron-clan.blogspot.com/ I will try it out for a while and then decide where I will be blogging. | | |
| Natalia is very 2, but her antics sure make it difficult not to smile.Some of the most amusing moments come from her dressing herself. Some choices are questionable, but all are invariably Natalia-esque. One of her classics is the upside down sweater. You know the one, where the sleeves are on but the hood is suspended over her bottom and the waist is at her neck. Another favorite of mine is when she puts on her princess shoes. Here she is with one of her favorite tops and her princess shoes, cooking up only who knows what in her kitchen.  
And here is a very eclectic approach to fashion. 
T-shirt, cloth panty cover from one of her Sunday dresses and fuzzy Zoe slippers. Remember this one when she is famous someday. | | |
|  Homemade costumes by Grandma Essig. I had grand ambitions to make them myself, but only managed to sow the sash that Natalia is wearing. Grandma to the rescue. 
Grandma, of course, couldn't leave it alone. Here are the cool accessories that she found to enhance the costumes. We attended our first "Hay Fever" or harvest festival as a family. Isabella made an appearance at one when she was 5 months then we switched Churches and they haven't had one until this year.  They gave tickets for popcorn and cotton candy. They also let the kids pick treats at each of the games. Natalia was harvesting suckers and actually came away with three from one game. We tried to give some back, but they wouldn't let us. 
Our littlest pirate borrowing one of his sisters' hats. 
Family photo op thanks to Cynthia who forced me ;) | | |
| Who knew that a simple pile of leaves could yield so much fun? 
Why, of course, anyone who was ever very young. I am not sure that I know what is more fun, jumping in to a pile of leaves when you are 4 or watching your 4 year old laugh with glee as she emerges from the pile. 
   
Natalia prepares her pile, gets ready, and jumps. 
Daddy takes a break from reforming the pile to relax with Natalia.  
Some quick fingers and some practice shots were need to capture these great images.   Tobias thinks this is hard work. 
The day has come to a close, the sun is setting, and it is time to take the leaves to the garden to do their job. | | |
| Words cannot describe the elation I felt as I realized that my almost 2 1/2 year old was potty training herself. After struggling to find what would motivate Isabella and trudging through the set backs and muckiness, not to mention that we just had Tobias in April and he is still nursing, I had no desire to even broach the subject with Natalia right now. She has been in the habit for awhile now of taking off her diapers the moment anything touches it. I seldom would realize that she had snuck away to do this and I would have to clean up the messes. Then she graduated to putting panties on after taking the diaper off. Fast forward to September, she had taken her diaper off, replaced it with panties and gone about her business. I knew she had done this, but was so busy with chores and Tobias that I had forgotten. At some point in the day, she announced quite decidedly that she needed to go potty, went straight to the bathroom and the big potty and went. Twice that day and only one potty accident right before bed time. Two days later she went poop in the big potty and I couldn't praise her enough. The little potty was taken out of our already cramped bathroom and I was smiling from ear to ear. We still have several accidents and some days are better than others, but I am joyful and relieved that she has taken the initiative. Potty training a motivated child is soooo much easier. | | |
|
