How it looks from here

Busy! I keep meaning to post, but then the evenings get away from me. And then I think that there's nothing so new or so exciting that it can't wait until (the proverbial) later.

Here's the executive summary: We were sick, but now we're better (for the moment); Grandma Pat was here for a few days during Natalie's spring break; we're starting work on our garden.

Natalie remains as adorable as ever.

The picture on the left is Natalie going to school on Pajamas Day. The one on the right is after school on the day of the Silly Hat Shabbat (a Purim warm-up from all we could tell).

We've had some rainy days, too. She calls umbrellas "rainbrellas". Have I mentioned that before? Probably! But, hey March showers... Also, lightening is "rain flashin'."

She's really into her baby. Except, oddly, the baby is never allowed to be clothed. If I dress the baby at night, the very first thing Natalie will do the next morning is to take off the baby's jumpsuit. If I suggest the baby is cold, Natalie will tell me, "No, baby's not cold. Baby okay."

When household pets attack . . .

(Everything really is bigger in Texas!)

Natalie is really becoming quite the conversationalist, capable of abstract thought and, uh, demands.

Example #1
Me: Goodnight, big girl. Sleep tight. Have sweet dreams.
Natalie: Mommy?
Me: Yes
Natalie: I gonna dream about pasta. 
(A girl after my own heart.)

Example #2
Scene: We're all at a Sunday brunch buffet, I sit down with a loaded plate - filled mostly with the same things Natalie has, plus a small amount of bread pudding and ice cream that I've strategically attempted to hide behind other food.
Natalie, peering at my plate: Is that ice cream?
Me: Yes. Would you like a small bite?
Natalie: No! I want a BIG BITE! 

Here's Natalie and Grandma Pat working together on zipping and unzipping.

The goat and I went to a wedding.

Here's big girl at the park:

In the pictures above, she's holding her pigtails because she was convinced they'd blow away otherwise. No amount of my suggesting that she do an experiment by letting go and seeing if they blew away was going to make a difference. Silly girl!

Gardening: hope springs eternal, or some such crazy belief. Or maybe something like: herbs are annuals, weeds are perennials, and memories are forever?

Not pictured: the moment - not thirty seconds after this picture was taken - when Natalie decided she was done, took off her rain boots, and then set out barefoot toward the fire ant mound (she was not hurt). Thus endeth the backyard beautification.

Hope spring has sprung for you, and that your garden time is a little less traumatic!

Conversations from today

As I drove Natalie to our favorite walking trail today, she was very chatty:

N: Last time on this trail, with Grandma Pat, we saw a HUGE cow. It was eating grass. It was HUGE.
M: Was it bigger than you?
N: Yes, Daddy, it was bigger than me.
M: Was it bigger than me?
N; No, Daddy, it was not bigger than you.


The walk was supposed to be followed by a trip to the park, which had to be cancelled due to an incident with spitting. Later, Kate was talking to Natalie:

K: Why didn't you get to go to the park?
N: Ca-buzz I made bad choices.
K: Like what?
N: I spit at Daddy.
K: What can you do differently next time?
N: ... Maybe sometime we could go park?

Feeding peanut

Here is a video of Natalie feeling her toy dog: