Party like a Kitty

We had Natalie's belated third birthday party two weeks after we returned from San Diego. And about four days after her ear surgery. It was all a bit crazy, but it worked out. And we luckily had really good (if a little windy) weather - an especially good thing since I really didn't have a rain plan.

I'd been planning the kitty theme for a while, collecting various kitty crafts and kitty games that the kids could do. In the end, I'd way over-planned, and my game of painting cat whiskers on faces and then having the kids hunt for mice (cat toys! so brilliant, right?) didn't happen. The kids were just too happy playing on the play structure.

My major craftiness went towards making kitty ears for all the guests. This wasn't as quick as I had thought it would be, but I was really pleased with the final products. I filled the party bags with kitty-themed items: paw print stickers, a little plastic toy cat, a rubber duck/cat, and some goldfish crackers.

Here are a few shots of the birthday-ish girl:

(The lower-right picture is Natalie's old babysitter. We miss her very much, but she's now graduated and gone on to bigger and better things!)

Here are a few other party guests:

We had pizza and store-bought cake. Nothing fancy, just fun. And, if I do say so myself, it was fun! The cake was a big hit!

Thanks so much to all our local friends who made the day so special. To our far-flung family friends: we wish you all could have been there! Hugs!

October in San Diego

October in San Diego is just lovely - be not fooled by dreams of hitting the beach in June. That is folly, my friends. October is where it's at. Also, probably late July and August, but who can find a parking spot at the beach then?

Anyway, Natalie and I hit the road for a very brief weekend jaunt to San Diego. Our main purpose was to visit with my grandmother, but we also had the added bonus of seeing extended family (and super-extended family from England!) and my high school friends. 

We started things off with our traditional airport breakfast of pumpkin bread.

No, she doesn't want to share. At. All.

Since the weather was so lovely, we did a lot of sitting outside around the pool.

Natalie even went for a swim one night:

We played inside some, too.

 Natalie got to visit with her favorite kitty:

(The caption for this is Natalie saying, "Munch your food, kitty! Munch your food!")

(This is Natalie showing Baby Rachel how to give the kitty gentle touches.)

Of, course, we also visited our various playgrounds. Natalie totally knows how to work her audience for playground assistance!

We also had a totally lovely beach picnic with my high school friends and their kids and significant others. I had so much fun talking and visiting that I totally neglected to take any pictures. Here, however, is a picture of me (taken by someone else, obviously) at said picnic.

 
The requisite four generations shot:

Indeed, we packed a lot into just a few days. This trip was extra-challenging since Natalie's sleep was way off. In fact, she really wouldn't sleep for more than three hours at a time. This was super-exhausting since I really wanted to use her nap times to visit with my grandmother and others, but I was sort of a zombie from being up all night, night after night, with her. Well, mystery solved - over the past few months we've been struggling with an ear infection that we couldn't kick. 

As it turned out, it was so bad that she ended up needing tubes in her ears. So we did that about ten days after we returned. And, as stressful as the experience was, things are much, much better now. Here's a shot of the patient as she enjoyed her post-surgery popsicle. I will admit that the day was so emotional for me that I thought it was weird that Mike was taking this picture, but now I find it sort of sweet and I'm glad we have it.

Now that she's back to normal (whatever that means at three), Natalie has her eye on you! 

September Surprise

I suspect that this isn't surprising news for most of you at this point, but, well: Natalie is going to be a big sister in January! Surprise! Or not. Whatever.

(Just because I'm vain like that, the picture on the left was at about 22 weeks [check out my hand-made skirt, too!]; the picture on the right is at nearly 25 weeks. Angles and backdrop are everything, no?)

As for Natalie's understanding of the new baby, well, things are mixed. She'll sometimes kiss or pat my belly. But other times she's busy instructing us to buy the baby its own toys or letting us know that she won't come to the hospital to visit because she wants to have her snack (?). I can't help feeling that she's a little like those dinosaurs who had no idea that the asteroid was heading for them - but I hope it won't be that traumatic! We probably aren't helping the situation by calling the baby "the porpoise dolphin" - I hope she doesn't think a real porpoise / dolphin is coming to live with us!  I do think she has some sense that a human baby is coming, though. We've also signed her up for "big sister class" (a sibling class + tour) at the hospital in November. We'll see how that goes. 

Our September has been good - a little less busy than August (although we're still dealing with more preschool closures than we'd like!).

Mike and I have been out twice this month. This might be a record.

The first event was the wedding of a family friend of the Good Goat; the second was a work event for the Good Goat. We had everyone in town for wedding!

And, now, more of what you really come here for:

 She's still (mostly) super-sweet (most of the time). Here are some funny moments:

Me, rolling scratch paper into pretend ice cream cones: Here you go.
Natalie: Baby (her doll) wants one, too!
Me: Can you and baby share?
Natalie: No! She will freak out!

Me: Please put your shoes on.
Natalie: I can't. I'm dehydrated.

Scene: lunch, Natalie is making a giant mess of her pb&j sandwich - licking the jam and smearing the peanut butter everywhere.
Me: Do you do that at school? What do you teachers say?
Natalie: They don't say anything.
Me, to Mike: I guess they have other fish to fry.
Natalie: They don't eat fish.

Natalie, singing to herself: You get what you get, and you throw a fit. (Uhh, I think the real preschool saying might be "You get what you get, and you don't throw a fit." But, well, uh, there you go.)

In adorable-land, she's started calling raindrops "kisses from the rain". (Her umbrella is still a "rainbrella".)

I'm also working on her belated birthday party. It's going to be kitty cat-themed. I figure this is my one chance to sort of go a little theme crazy and do it all myself before life gets too complicated. Sadly, though, I've had to accept that even my ambition has limits, so in favor of cool party entertainment and neat favors, we'll be buying the cake. Pictures to come!

In knitting news (yes, I'm still at it - albeit very slowly!), I made this sweater for the new baby of a childhood friend of mine:

In parting, a shot of Natalie playing school: