Two

Or, as we learned, "Nani berfday pizzaaah" (Natalie birthday pizza).

And, yes, we did have pizza on her birthday (twice).

Her actual birthday was Wednesday, and we just did a small dinner at home with Daddy's home-made pizza. We'd all had so much excitement and so many treats these last few weeks, small and mellow was just right.

That was, of course, because Bubbe and Grrr threw Natalie a wonderful party in Michigan two weeks ago. The theme? Hello Kitty. Oh, you know it . . . .

(The flowers were a lovely gift from a wedding Aunt Jenny [Jenji] had been in earlier that weekend)

We even had matching Hello Kitty balloons!

A good time was had by all:

We had pizza, cake, and fun presents, natch.

And Natalie got some good time in with cousin Brody.

(Thanks to cousin Zak who took many of the excellent birthday party photos!)

Also, I have posts planned about the rest of Detroit, and our trip to Paris and London. Stay tuned!

Bubbi and Gramps

Kate and I recently took a fantastic trip to Paris and London, and Natalie (who turns two today) stayed with her grandparents, Bubbi and Gramps. Here is Bubbi and Gramps' account of their time with Natalie:

We felt like we had won the lottery when Kate and Mike asked us if we would take care of Natalie while they went to Europe for a week.

We were prepared to be a little more tired than usual (we napped when she did). But what we weren’t prepared for was the absolute delight that is Natalie. She enchanted us (and our friends and family) with her budding vocabulary, her contagious laugh, her sparkly eyes, her zest for life, her love of dogs and people, Pad Thai and us.

She learned the word “Kabloom!” from her Aunt “Jenji” and said it a few hundred times a day. She loved greeting the people at our favorite corner market. She made Pad Thai out of play doh. She enjoyed watching the birds while she ate her morning oatmeal. She played Grrr’s (Natalie’s way of saying Gramps) “Getaway Game” many times a day (you have to ask Grrr about this when you see him). She made friends with the Denae and Kayla next door and their squiggly, wiggly dog, Peanut Butter.

We visited the zoo, a few different parks, took lots of walks, played in the backyard, had meals with many wonderful friends and family, went out for frozen yogurt and had a “Hello Kitty” themed birthday party complete with hats and noisemakers.

And luckily we had a few fun days at the end of the week with Natalie’s parents, Aunt Sharon and Uncle Frank, cousin Stef and Aunt Jenji and we all celebrated at the most beautiful wedding of Zak and Shira.

Of course we miss our little Natalie terribly but are so grateful for the huge dose of love, joy and laughter that her visit brought. And we are busy looking online for flights…to Fort Worth Texas of course!!

Thank you Kate and Mike for giving us this wonderful gift of time with your most amazing daughter.

Below are some pictures with light-hearted captions by Grrr (who has won the Detroit Free Press Caption Contest 15 times…so be prepared):

“Aunt Jenji is my favorite because she taught me how to fall down and go ‘Ka-boom’.”

“I call him ‘Grrr’ because he growls if I stay up too late.”

“If I just wait until Mom and Dad leave, I’ll get to EAT a cupcake and not just wear one?”

“Now THAT’S what I’m talkin’ about!”

“One of us three is sooo cute…”

“Meal time again! That’s what I’m talkin’ about!”

“Gramps says that I’m the cutest little animal at the zoo.”

Natalie shows Bubbe that she prefers walking to riding in the stroller at the zoo.

“Uh, Bubbe, I thought you said this was the toy aisle.”

“Bubbe says that the secret to a successful outfit is to accessorize.”

Danae loved stopping by to do some ‘mothering’.

Accessorizing, continued

“We older girls use straws.”

“Hey Grrr, give a girl some room here; there is a reason I call it Noni’s chair.”

Happy Third of July!

And Fourth, too. Natalie's got her patriotic togs on:

(Thanks to Bubbe and Gramps for the fun dress!)

This week has been busy, but we've made time for lots of snuggling.

 We've also been playing inside a lot since it's been rather warm outside.

Here's Natalie in the middle of one of her favorite game: ten zillion Cheerio pick-up. Except, she never picks up the Cheerios; it's like all the fun is in the dropping of the Cheerios! Say what?!

Another favorite game? Shoes! Either wearing the shoes of others, or, alternately, making absolutely sure that they are wearing shoes, and the right shoes at that!).

Her climbing skills continue to improve - this kid needs to be able to go to the jungle gym!

(Celebrating on the ottoman after a successful ascent. Like a true alpiniste, she has dressed for the altitude.)

(After the tricky Rocking Chair Route.)

Here's proof that we try to play outside:

(Again with the bubbles. Always with the "bobba, bobba".)

Notice how flushed she gets? Once we're outside, I become paranoid that she's getting sunburned because she just turns so pink so immediately. But this is actually heat, not sun. Not sure what to do about it, except short outside bursts early morning and lots of water (and sunscreen, of course).

Natalie has also started "reading" to herself: she'll turn the pages of her favorite books and murmur gibberish. It's totally cute.

Friday night, Mike made pizza. Natalie had a hard time waiting for it to be ready.

Saturday night, Mike made some amazing eggplant fritters. And the tomatoes and basil on that bruschetta? From our garden! (Alas, the combination of hot, dry weather and spider mites, plus the rough spring has been hard on the tomatoes).

In other news, we'll be traveling for a few weeks. (But, random thieves who stake houses out via personal blogs, we have a house-sitter. Ten! We actually have ten house-sitters. And they are all judo champs. You've been warned. Seriously.)

Our bags are packed; see you in a few weeks! Be good!

Lucia's baby shower

My friend Lucia is having a baby. Baby shower time! The baby is due in August, and is a girl. Lucia had indicated she wanted a strawberry-themed baby shower. I was all set to trip it out with Strawberry Shortcake (say, oh, third-grade-birthday-party style). Luckily, for the mother-to-be, I had a co-hostess to rein in my wilder, cloying party plans. We went for something "sophisticated, but sweet." Or, you know, in the neighborhood of that.

 

The lovely mother-to-be:

It's not a baby shower unless there's a Pack n' Play:

 

Lucia and her step-daughters:

White chocolate cake with Strawberry buttercream (why, yes, I have simplified my approach to shaped cakes!):

And there was knitting:

 

(The two items above are actually the same color, knit from the same yarn. I just managed to photograph the hat with my iphone in terrible lighting)