Happy Halloween and the Big Girl Bed!

Our little pumpkin! What a cutie she is in her Halloween costume (at least we think so!). We went out trick or treating at a few houses but it was already getting pretty dark when we got out there. Natalie seemed a little uneasy with being out with everyone so we didn't go very far. We were able to show Natalie in her costume to Nana, Grandpa, Auntie Kendra, Hayden, Oma and Opa via webcam before she took it off.

Last weekend, I took Natalie to a Halloween costume party with some other friends and their babies/toddlers. We met up at Pullen Park. In addition to seeing all the kids in their costumes, Natalie and I went on the little train and the carousal they have in the park.

Before trick or treating today, we were finally able to take Natalie to the Hill Ridge Farms to go on a hay ride and pick out a pumpkin. She also spent time checking out the farm animals, going on a giant slide with Papa and going through a hay maze.

Last night, we moved Natalie to her new big girl bed and new room. We've converted the playroom into her new big girl bedroom with a twin bed. She did surprisingly well. She cried a little last night but I think it was because she was didn't like the nightlight in her new room that we had added. Once we removed the nightlight and snuggled a little bit, she went right to sleep and never got out of bed. She slept till 8:30 a.m. which is an hour and a half longer than normal. For her nap today, she went down with no problems again and slept for 2 hours and 20 minutes -- an hour longer than she did in her crib. Again tonight, she went down with no problems and didn't get out of the twin bed. I'm very impressed with how well she's doing! She's such a big girl!

Waking up for the last time in her crib:

Helping to set up her new room:

Natalie's new room. Since taking these photos we've moved the nursery glider in the room and still need to put up the book shelves on the wall in the window area and add the tiebacks for the curtains.

Natalie getting up this morning after sleeping the first night in her big girl bed:

NC Zoo and State Fair

It's that time of the year again -- NC State Fair was in town. This month has been pretty busy for us on the weekend so we really only had the opportunity to go on Saturday. Unfortunately, it rained most of the day. We decided to brave it anyways since the main items we wanted to take Natalie to were indoors. Emile and I got wet but Natalie stayed nice and dry under her stroller rain cover.

She got to see the cows, bunnies, and other farm animals. She even got to pet a cow (we quickly washed her hands after :). I think she enjoyed all the people watching the most though.

A few weekends ago we met up with some friends and their toddlers/babies at the NC Zoo in Asheboro again. The weather was so much more comfortable than July when we went last time, actually on the chilly side. This time we explored the North American side. Natalie learned how to make the sound of a wolf while there. Her favorite animals to mimic are the snake's hiss and a wolf's howl. She doesn't seem to want to try saying meow or woof yet!

Natalie likes to push the stroller herself. Of course, she's too short to reach so Emile holds her up like she's in a chair and they stroll around -- not always in a straight line.

Natalie is getting into pretend cooking. She loves to take cookware out of the cupboards while Emile is cooking. It's a fun activity to her now during the day. Emile has taught her how to help feed the cakes their wet food at night too. We'll have to get a video of that to show at some point.

Natalie loves to sit on the our enclosed deck furniture and read magazines. It's a relaxing time for us.

Natalie is starting to say a bunch of words. Sometimes not more than once or twice but she's definitely starting to mimic more. Her latest words are Opa, Nana, banana (which she says like Nana), mailman, raisin, bubbles, help, on, and off (these are all I can think of right now).

Visit with Oma and Opa

The three of us went to MN the first weekend in October to visit Oma and Opa. Natalie had lots of great adventures.

She went on her first amusement park ride at the Mall of America, the Blues Clues Ride. She went on with Papa since my pregnant belly was too big for the bar to come down! She also went on the carousel with Papa and Oma. She loved looking around at all the activity and lights. While there, we also got her a strawberry shake -- which she downed pretty quickly.

We spent a little time looking at books in the Bloomington Library with Oma and Opa:

Natalie also got to explore Oma's ballet studio where she got to see all the Company dancers practice and watched a toddler (over 3 yr. old) creative movements class. She tried participating but it was a little to advanced for her.

We also got a chance to meet up with Emile's college buddy, Ben, and his family, Britt, Alec and Ashton. This was the first time they got to meet Natalie. Natalie even got a little hug from Ashton.

Oma and Opa brought out their keyboard for Natalie to play around with. She loved banging on the keys.

She of course spent lots of time playing with Oma and Opa:

One of Natalie's favorite thing to do now is to look at videos or photos we have taken on our camcorder or camera.

I also recently got on video Natalie saying "oh, oh", "mama", "papa" and "not not (not nice"). I love hearing her say these things.

Now that the weather is getting chilly, we converted Natalie's water table to a sand table. She's enjoying the variety.

And she always enjoys playing with balloons (of course, while supervised). Her laugh is contagious.