Natalie's World

Friday, September 5, 2008

"DID YOU SAY SALLY?"

NATALIE NAMED HER SALLY!

This image is to represent a little story about Natalie and her baby doll. To my knowledge and to Natalie's mommy's (I asked her this a.m. about this), this is the first time Natalie has named a doll or anything that doesn't already have a name (like Elmo, Dora, Diego, etc.).

It was when I was getting ready to take her to the town to her Nonna's house.

Come on Natalie let me fix your hair so you can go to Nonna's house. (Mimi)
I can't right now. I am fixing Sally's hair. (Natalie)
Natalie, did you say Sally? (Mimi)
Yes (Natalie)
Is her [referring to her doll] name Sally? (Mimi)
Yes (Natalie)

Earlier this a.m., Natalie brought the doll to me so that I could fix her headband (that came with the doll). It is so hard to keep the headband on her little slick head. It slips off so easily. So I guess it had slipped off again after I put it back on for her.

I just thought this was so sweet. She named her baby!

In my book...it doesn't get much sweeter than this.

~~Natalie's Mimi~~

P.S. As I previewed this for the blog, I see her hair bow (headband) slipped off again. It is in her the doll's lap...too funny, huh?

LABOR DAY (09.01.08)

LABOR DAY MORNING

We didn't have specific plans since there was this cloud of the storm. It was beginning to rain and we had seen where it had begun to hit land. But what did we know...

I fixed Natalie pancakes for breakfast. We were sort of on a watch and see basis at this point. Natalie had no clue of anything. So did just what she wanted to do...play puzzles. I had previously (the day before) finished organizing her room...something I had been in the process of doing since before she moved to B.R. She found the new place for puzzles and was as content as she could be playing with them...though at one point I heard her frustration with one of them.

Do you see this one that's she's working on? It is quite difficult for me to do. She did this one by herself. I was shocked at this achievement. Next she attempted to do another one like this and lost her patience before she finished it.

This is where the hurricane was at this point. Even though it remained a Category 2. The damage was wides spread. As far as north Louisiana felt the affects of Hurricane Gustav.
Natalie's Nonna called and wanted to know about coming to get her. I was content to keep her the rest of her days here, but I know we have to share her sometimes too. I had already made plans to go into town to pick up milk and cat food. They were completely out of 2% milk at Wal-mart the day before when I was getting groceries and supplies for the potential storm. So I didn't even bother purchasing one of the last 5 gallons of whole milk (which all the bare shelves of the dairy cooler had left Sunday around mid-morning) because Cari will not drink whole milk. And I just plain forgot to get the cat food. So offered to take Natalie since I was going to the grocery store anyway.

Natalie stayed there for the next few days because of us not having any air for several days. She has never had to deal with uncomforts like that yet and I definitely wanted to spare her that.

~~Natalie's Mimi~~

LABOR DAY WEEKEND: PART 1 (08.31.08)

PREPARING FOR SOME DOWN TIME BECAUSE OF HURRICANE GUSTAV...

okay, I wasn't expecting that much damage...maybe some down time for the satellite...so we would need some movies, of course...

But as I continue to watch the weather channel and listen to the broadcasts and watching all the evacutions, I thought okay let's got get those movies [just in case it wasn't much to it all] and buy some basic food supplies, batteries and such [just in case it gets bad]. During all chaos and all, I forgot to get the camera out at wal-mart, but I did at Video Express.

Oh, she just can't decide!

But I did insist on this one: THE LITTLE MERMAID! For some reason, Natalie loves Ariel. She always has to match her Ariel panties with her Ariel nightgown. She is really into matching things. I don't remember my kids going through that phase...surely they did, but I just don't remember.

And I kept trying to photograph this to document the hurricane route (the roads that we travel every day). Though this time, it was a little diffferent than the usual hurricane route since all of the Louisiana coast was evaucated. It was such a broad area compared to usually either on side or another for a particular hurricane, but not this one. It didn't hit as strong as Katrina, but it's path was very wide spread and seemed to go on and on.

Randy took this photograph for the blog when he left here to get the boat out of the lake. The rest of that story is here:

http://ainsworthremembering.blogspot.com/2008/09/randys-boat-trailer-accident-photos.html

and here:

http://ainsworthremembering.blogspot.com/2008/09/hurricane-gustav.html

The rest of this day continues in the next post.

LABOR DAY WEEKEND: PART 2 (08.31.08)

THE LAST SWIM IN THE POOL FOR THE SUMMER OF 2008!

Who would have guessed on the last day of summer that Natalie and Poppa could come up with one more new fun game to play in the pool.

Natlie enjoyed a little bit of everything about the pool this last time for the summer of 2008. Here she is just before sliding down.

And now she is just plain acting silly.

There's she goes!

And she's gone!

Now this was another new thing she did. I think she has been watching some Olympics. She is doing this bouncy thing at her news and then jumping...maybe she thinks it is diving?

the splash...

I tried really (but not really hard since I didn't really play with settings) to capture the different sequences of the jump. This wasn't in the above two images because it was a different jump, but if it is the typical middle shot of the last two. I love this one of her in mid-air. No one would have guessed just 12 weeks ago this little one was afraid of the water.

I liked the way the frame of the ladder framed her face in this one.

We had already packed most of the pool stuff the day before, but saved a few for Natalie's last swim of the summer. The last time she used these spider-man floaties so just as suspected she didn't mind using them again. (If Dalton thinks they are cool...they must be!)

While I was running her bath water and fixing some supper, this is Natalie playing with "new" kittens. They aren't quite 2 weeks old. These really slipped upon us. We aren't very good pet owners. We intend to get Mama Cat fixed along with her other 3 children who have made our home their home since no one else seemed to want a FREE kitten (not cat). With our busy lives, we can't seem to make it a priority. Maybe this time we will before we have cat farm!

So in the meantime, Natalie is enjoying loving Mimi's Kitties.

~~Natalie's Mimi~~

LABOR DAY WEEKEND: PART 3 (08.31.08)

Natalie and her Poppa had lots of fun playing with the Lego Block that I got her as a little suprize gift for the weekend visit.

Before playing blocks we watch one of the Disney classic movies that we had rented earlier in the day. Even before Hurricane threats, we wanted to start watching Disney classics with Natalie when we could with her. We rented this one: 101 Dalmations and The Little Mermaid.

This is the robot that Natalie and her Poppa created with the new Lego blocks!

~~Natalie's Mimi~~

A LITTLE GIFT FROM MIMI FOR LABOR DAY WEEKEND

POSING FOR MIMI WITH THE UN-OPENED GIFT

AND AGAIN ONCE IT WAS OPENED...

Here she is trying to open the factory packaging that is often so difficult (even for adults with scissors in their hands).

I have been "snail" mailing little gifts for Natalie since she has moved to B.R.

Most of the items are just thoughtful sweet little things--HAPPIES as one friend called it. While shopping for "happies" I found these Lego blocks. I saved them for her first visit here since the move.

Randy and I picked Natalie up from her other grandparents Saturday evening after we dropped Cari off for the football jamboree in Vidalia. We took her to McDonald's to the playland. Since her nonna said that she had already ate good supper with them, she got a chocolate sundae while we ate our supper. I really wished we had more activities for little ones around here. I get tired of taking her to the same places (the park and McDonald's playland), but that's all we really have around here. I didn't take any photos. I forgot to get the camera out of the car with all the craziness (all the extra traffic and fears of Gustav) that was in the air that evening. Oh well, I have photographed her there more than once and I am sure I will again in the future.

I have more to post. What a week this has been!

~~Natalie's Mimi~~