BACKTRACKING #10: Saturday Fun (05.23.09)

Above: posing (Mallory Pose--Brittany's friend, Mallary taught her this one!)

As look at these 2 years later and I can't help but remember this was when I could get her to look for the bug in my hair, camera or anything to get natural expressions. Now (July 2011) she just won't fall for that any more.

This was what she said when she had the camera in her hand! About being a photographer (not the others, but she had said those recently!)

MIMI AND HER SWEETHEART!

Cari and Natalie...

Poppa and Natalie...

Making Silly faces...

[I think we were waiting for the boyfriend to show up.]

Natalie and Precious!

3D glasses!

Who looks better wearing them?

NOW CHUCK E. CHEESE...

This is sort of sad...another post that I didn't finish. This is why you should do these right away. I think this was Memorial Day weekend. Cari, her boyfriend, Natalie and Mimi and Poppa went to Alexandria to see a 3D movie (I can't remember which at the moment) and dinner at Chuck E. Cheese. I think it was the first time we took her to CEC.

DR. AINSWORTH?

Maybe it is Natalie Ainsworth, DVM? This was photographed about a year ago (10.03.08). Natalie was really beginning the "pretend" age. She is playing with her Elmo doctor set. I didn't get many images. Precious was not a very good patient. Just look at the look on her face!

I have several images from the weekend and from last fall that I haven't posted that I intend to post over the next week or so. That way I won't get it all posted and then have to wait for two weeks for her to come back for another visit for new images on NATALIE'S WORLD...not that I have a lot of time for posting any way, but this way I keep more new stuff posted on a regular basis.

~~Natalie's Mimi~~

Edited: Nicki, I guess I should laugh at myself! I do that all the time out loud and I was just talking about that to some people at the post office. As one mom said it, "well, you know who you are!"...that's how she responds to the child who was just called the wrong name. To those you who are reading this post after I edited it. I put "Cari" Ainsworth rather than Natalie. And the really hehe part of about this was I didn't even catch it at first...I had to read the comment several times and then come look at the blog before it hit me. I am just going to blame it on my 3 hours of sleep last night!

10.04.08: Saturday night in Natalie's World

Randy and I had dinner in Vidalia with Natalie, her parents and her other grandparents at their home in Vidalia. Soon after we got their Natalie's Nonna and her decorated a pumpkin with these little parts...sort of like a "Mr. Potato Head". She and Emma had already done the pig and puppy...I think that's what they were.

These next few images are of them decorating Natalie's pumpkin.
So what did Natalie make!
A PUMPKING CAT! TOO CUTE!

After supper, Randy and I came back. I asked Natalie about coming with us. I really wanted her to stay the night and go to church with us. She said..."No, I have t stay with my parents!" It was so funny. But convinced her to come because "her parents" as she interestingly called them (you must admit that this is a bid growny for a 3 yr. old) that her parents were coming too. She still wasn't so sure, but her mommy walked her to the car and buckled up. She was soon very fine with all watching her DVD in the car.

So bathtime was next on the agenda for our evening at home. Last time she was here she played with toys that she had not seen in a while that I found while giving my bathroom a good cleaning or re-organizing. This is one of the toys that I found then too, but we didn't play with then because it was on a taller shelf and I just forgot about it. This was one her first tub toys other than rubber duckies. I bought it for her while she was a very young infant. I found it on clearance at Wal-mart. It said ages 12 mos and up...I think I gave it to her for her first Christmas, but I quite honestly I am not sure. Anyway...it one of those toys that I don't think she has outgrown. It has three little Care Bears with each one on some kind of floating device. They can each slide down the slide and then they have permanently resting place on the toy near the slide. We (and I do mean we) had fun sliding them down the slide!

After much playing (before the water gets any cooler), I remind her it is time to roller over and wash her hair. This is the first reaction I got. Isn't that a cute bottom!!!

Next she rolled around on her back...something she has enjoyed doing in the tub for about as long as I can remember...well, at least as long as she has been old enough to play in the tub w/o assistance. I am glad that I photographed this because I am not sure that I ever have. It's one of those things that's "worth remembering".

She is trying to wrap Precious in a old beach towel that I have been wrapping her in a nighttime before she goes to sleep. Often Precious is a litte cool, but especially this evening since she was groomed the day before. A POSED "CHEESE" WITH PRECIOUS (PRECIOUS DOESN'T LOOK TOO "CHEESY", HUH?)

And lastly she needs to brush her teeth.

Doesn't she look cute in her new Elmo P.J's that I have had in the back of the closet?
That's all I have from the night. Her mommy came in a few minutes later and she didn't want Mimi or Poppa...just her mommy. So I went to bed, but her mommy did have hard time getting her to bed. I think she was just a little overtired!

This was also the first time that Cameron and Brittany stayed the night here since getting married. It was different and reminds me of staying the night at my parents after getting married and moving away. It was nice to visit with all of them. It had been 4 weeks since I had seen my son. It is strange being parents of grown children. But I guess that's our goal in rearing our children... but is is all sort of bitter sweet.

~~Natalie's Mimi~~

09-12-07

This image is my favorite close up for the day. She really, really didn't want to take the time to look at me. She is just too, too busy for that!

If I am going to document Natalie's World...I need to capture the bad as well as the good. While I was here on the computer and she was watching TV, this is what I happend. I asked her what was she doing. She answered honestly, "I give Precious my milk." After I took this, I told her that I hoped that I wasn't confusing her by taking the photo because I do not want her to do that any more...what a mess!
I grabbed the camera again when I realized she had found this old toothbrush in Cari's bathroom (that's what we call it now that Cameron moved out). I thought it was so cute and she did too (I think) before she realized it was hot! She was so proud of herself for putting the toothpaste on it by herself, but this time it wasn't "her" toothpaste. At this point, I realized she was also asking for milk to get rid of the hot taste of the toothpaste.


Some fun with Sidewalk Chalk. It is fun and messy, but at least it washes clean easily. I would draw simple things (my drawing is very elementary...I mean pre-school like). She would identify the items...flowers, heart (valentine), trees, banana, apple, house, swing, slide, triangles, cirles, squares, etc. I ran out of things to draw so I drew more flowers.

This is her running to pet the cat. Check out all the chauk on her! Acutally, then she had to kiss the cat (on her back). She has too kiss everything. It is so cute...except when she started kissing strangers at McDonald's last Saturday night when we went there to play. I guess she is so used to us telling her to love and kiss everyone that she things we literally mean everyone!
Natalie running back to the concrete slab after kissing the cat. Notice the cat looking back at the camera (funny, uh?).
The concrete slab that we used to draw on is a slab that we had poured after Randy had some extra concrete leftover from a job at the gin. It was just a thin layer at the basketball goal to give the kids a little mini court to play basket ball. You can tell no one has had much interest in basket ball in a while. It has cracks and weeds trying to grow through. And of course, many leaves and sticks had accumulated since we last played with chalk out there (early summer). So I brought the broom out there to sweep off a nice section for us to play. And of course, she would rather play with the broom. She does think she is sweeping it clean!
More sweeping...doesn't she look so girl-like in her stance here. She has a daintiness about herself. That reminds me of Cari when she was a little girl. She was always so graceful. Isn't it funny how it doesn't have to be taught to some girls!
Now she is playing monsters with the broom. She has this distintive monster growl that she uses in her voice when talks monster talk.

This is a sweet angle of her. Doesn't she such a pretty sweet face and check out those beautiful eyes lashes.
She really just didn't want to look at me, but I did finally get this cheesy look (the same image at the top of this group of images).
This is Natalie's favorite way to watch TV. We have a plasma TV on the wall and she has loved this chair since she was old enough to climb up and down furniture. I think it is a little lower than the coach & loveseat. Lately this is how she relaxes to watch TV, but she used to sit in the center of the chair with her feet streched out in it...actually the way your suppose to sit in chaise chair like this. From my computer, I couldn't see her. Sometimes I would wander where she was and there she would be...sittting there in the middle of the chair (the back of the chair faces my work area) watching TV.

She may watch too much TV, but I contribute some of it to her being so advanced in some many areas. Since she was a little bitty baby, she and I danced to the theme songs to many of her programs. She can sing all of the Barney I love you song. In the first verse, I hold her and we hug and kiss at the part that says a hug and kiss. The 2nd verse about friends and they show childern and Barney holding hands and swaying together...so that's how she wants to do that verse now. We still hug and kiss too. During that verse, they also show clips of friends and such...in one of the scenes they show a little daushand. She always says that's Rudy (the dog that lives at her other house--they got him this past spring so he is still a puppy). But I don't correct her. I agree it's Rudy!

That's it for this date. I have more a few images to post from Friday night when we went to eat at the Duck's Nest. It was her daddy's first trip home since he moved to Baton Rouge. Natalie and Brittany had seen him two weeks ago when they got engaged, but it had been almost 4 weeks since I had seen my boy (the longest time we had gone without seeing our child). So were glad to see him. We wanted to have a relaxed evening visiting. So we chose the Duck's Next over our favorite place (LaFiesta) because it would be quieter. The other place is so busy these days that it is so loud in there thus not as enjoyable as its used to be and much harder carry on conversation and visit. I was so mad at myself when were getting ready to leave and I realized that I had even got the camera out. I told Randy to remind me! But we were busy visiting and keeping Natalie content! I did get a few images of Natalie and some of all 4 of them outside as we were leaving! Not what I had in mind, but it was better than nothing. Be looking for those soon. ---Natalie's MiMi