Happy 2nd Birthday Natalie!

Natalie Michelle is 2 years old today!  It's hard to believe 2 years has already gone by.  She has brought such joy to our lives the last two years.  She's such a sweetheart while still being little miss independent toddler. She makes us laugh all the time and gives the best hugs and kisses.  We had a great birthday weekend with her.  Yesterday we threw a joint birthday party with her birthday buddy, Liam, at Baileywick Park.  Although we were worried the weather was going to cause problems, it turned out to be a great party.  We had a wonderful time celebrating with our friends and family.  Natalie and Claire's Oma and Opa were able to come out for the big day.  My book club friend, Leona, made Natalie's birthday cake -- yellow cake with buttercream filling and fresh blueberries (Natalie's favorite fruit).  And of course, we had to have Disney Princesses on top -- her favorite characters right now.  Once we gave her the figurines from the top the cake, she walked around the party with them the rest of the time.  In typical Natalie style, she didn't want to try the cake at all but it was really good.  Natalie was a little overwhelmed by all the friends that came to hang out and thus, was a little shy and not so in to blowing out her candles (or having that much attention on her) but I think she still had a wonderful time playing on the playground and watching her friends.

Even though Claire didn't take much of a nap before the party, she managed to stay up for the whole thing and wasn't at all fussy.  She was such a trooper.  Lots of the little kids loved playing with her while she hung out in the exersaucer.

Popsicles and the Duck Tub

Natalie had her first Popsicle recently.  We made homemade Popsicles using VS Splash Strawberry Banana juice.  They're pretty good but like most things that Natalie tries for the first time, she wasn't too impressed.  She had a few licks and then threw it away.  We'll try again!

We moved Claire from infant tub to the Duck tub this week.  She loves it!  Every time I put her in the infant tub lately she kept trying to pull herself into a sitting position.  It was time to move her.  She really enjoys splashing around, being able to look in the mirror and play with her toys.  Natalie loves to help give her a bath in the duck tub.  Every time she hears the duck nose quack, she comes running "help me" (her version of saying she'd like to help).

It's been so hot lately that we finally pulled out one of the infant pools for the girls.  We have one that needs to be blown up but I broke the compressor my Dad gave us.  I'll need to replace it soon.  We also put Claire in the pool for the first time but I couldn't get a photo of her before she wanted to get out.  I think the water was still to cold for her.  We did get some video of them which I'll need to upload soon.

Claire also tried out the singing mirror and the jumperoo recently.  She is having a number of new adventures and enjoying all the time Natalie spends showing her to how play with everything.

Happy Mother's Day!

She Sat Unassisted!

We are so proud of Claire.  She sat unassisted for longer than a few seconds on Friday for the first time.  She sat for a few minutes before toppling over.  We put a pillow behind her to catch her during her topples.  But she's already sitting longer each time.  I think she enjoys it much more than being on her tummy!  She can actually reach for her toys and play with them for awhile.  Plus, she can watch her sister playing more too.

Kinsey also took the girls for a stroll in the double stroller and had Claire sit in the stroller instead of in the infant carseat.  They both had a good time enjoying the weather.

And of course, lots of snuggle time.

Claire is 5 mo. old.

Claire is 5 months old today!  It's gone so fast.  She laughs and smiles all the time.  She's getting very close to sitting unassisted and rolling from her back to her tummy.  I wouldn't be surprised if she does one, if not both, before the end of the month.  Today she also started laughing over and over at Natalie acting silly.  It was so enjoyable to watch. 



She is drooling a lot now.  She loves to chew on everything -- including her sister's shirt when she's sitting next to her.  Natalie only barely got away from Claire's grip:

We took the girls to the Raleigh Arboretum on Saturday.  There were a lot of beautiful flowers that Natalie got to explore.  It was very pretty although not as nice as Duke Gardens.