Springy Saturday

Garage Sale season has officially begun. McDonald's for breakfast, then off to see what we can find for mere change. Other than a few pair of shoes and a couple of tees for Sutton, these little toddler tables were the big purchase of the day. Stay tuned all summer to see all the "necessities" we will find.

Washing the car (and her puppy) with Dad.

Warm sunshine and suds. What could be better?

Church Egg Hunt

Last year, Natalie was elated to find each and every egg. This year, she was much more interested in the candy hiding within the eggs. It was hard to convince her to stop trying to eat the candy and keep hunting for eggs. There really is NO rationalizing with a 2 year-old.

Then there's Sutton Paul, who's just happy to be at the party. He liked holding/eating the empty plastic eggs, so it worked out great. Next year, his sister will probably have him finding eggs for her while she lays back and waits for the candy. Whatever happened to hunting for real eggs anyways? The prize was in the protein.

"The Friends"

I got Natalie out of the car in our garage, she saw friends in the culdesac and immediately started yelling at them to come inside. They couldn't understand her, so she ran over to them and invited them in. The three of them trudged through the garage and the house, then into the backyard...with Natalie leading the way, turning to make sure they were following her and saying, "Come on, come on."

In a matter of seconds, our back slab of concrete was full of neighbor kids. All personally invited by our little hostess with the mostest. Now, every time we get ready to go outside, Natalie looks for "the friends." I sure love that kid.

A Reason to Smile

We're smiling about the sunshine and outdoor playtime. But, Spring also brings..

the ice cream truck (this my be the cutest smile I've ever seen on her face)

and Easter Mail

Thanks for all the mail grandparents and great-grandparents. Natalie and Sutton love tearing into those pastel envelopes!

Partners in Crime

Apparently Natalie thought Sutton needed a little snack while he played. So, she gave him the entire container of stars. The cutest little convicts I've ever seen! Don't worry, they "cleaned up" nearly every morsel.

LiTTLe MoNKeYS

We had our first zoo trip of the year last week. It was perfect. Well, there was one small meltdown on the car ride home, but I won't tell you which of the 5 babies lost it. (ahemnatalie) Other than that, a truly PERFECT zoo day.

Spring, Where Are You?

We finally got to play outside for an afternoon! Natalie had a blast running through all the puddles. Keep in mind, these puddles were left over from snow melting the day before, but nonetheless, we enjoyed the first tastes of Spring.

Mr. Sun, is that you?

See the snow behind her in the neighbor's yard?

Outdoor toys are already much more exciting and manageable than they were last year.

And now there's a new kid in town who's ready to take his turn in the swing.

While we enjoyed our day outside, it was also fun to be inside at FuN RuN on a rainy wednesday. This place is great. There are four of these little wooden 2 story houses that are all attached with secret passageways that go up and down and all around. There are huge blow-up slides and bounce houses and a toddler room with mini slides and playhouses. It's in Liberty, in case you need a rainy day activity.

Speaking Natalese

Mittens are muffins

Diaper cream is sour cream

When her feelings are hurt, or if she just doesn't like what you told her she says "you're makin my feelings"

To ask if two words rhyme she says, "those just look like the same?"

When asking to leave her door open at bedtime, "leave it wide and open"

A little or a lot is "A little much or a big much?"

Backpacks are pack packs

A carwash is a washcar

And sidewalks used to be called walkie sides, but are now just sidewalks.

Welcome, Pizza

Sutton is onto bigger and better things than simple Gerber peas and bananas. He thoroughly enjoyed half a slice of big-people cheese pizza. Choosey moms choose pizza.

I just love this happy little face.

I know, Sutton. Pizza makes Mommy happy too.

Little Buds

Sutton and Luke enjoyed some male bonding. Just like regular-sized men, they didn't get too close, staying in their own seats.

March Madness hadn't started yet, so they settled for Signing Time.

Sutton just might get the motivation to crawl with Luke kicking across the room from him.

Pats of love.

Just an extra picture of the cuteness that never stops around here.

And, as if my own children weren't cute enough on their own, we have to go and add this adorable guy to the mix. Oh, how we love Luke!

Babies Playing Babies

Natalie and Ethan Sharp play so well together. Much better than any two toddler girls I can think of. Probably because Ethan just goes with the flow, doing whatever crazy thing Natalie comes up with. Right before I took this picture, I asked Ethan what they were doing and he said, "Natty said we're playing babies." She later changed her own diaper, so I'm not sure who the parent was and who the baby was. Either way, these two are adorable together.

Little Bear

Grandaddy made his rounds from NC, to KC, to Idaho and back, visiting all his grandchildren. After his visit in Idaho, he brought back a love for Little Bear and shared this with Natalie. Her new tradition is to watch one Little Bear before bed each night. AND, she cannot watch it alone, she must be in someone's lap. She definitely missed Granddad the first couple nights without him, but she allows Mom and Dad to fill in until Grandaddy can come back into town.

Let Me Count the Ways

I love Natalie Glenn Cook. Some days it shows, others, I just look tired and frustrated. In a direct answer to my prayers, the last few days of being a stay-at-home Mom have been out-of-this-world wonderful! I was just recounting last weekend to some girlfriends about how God used answering my prayers quickly and specifically in the summer of 2001, in Africa, to completely change my life. Well, it seems, He continues to bless me and show Himself to me, even now...even in the small things.

I couldn't help but smile at the perfect line of characters in my kitchen just 2 nights ago. I love finding things Natalie's played with and just picturing her talking and moving them around. I'm sure she lovingly placed them each in their respective spots for a reason. This is my new Facebook profile picture, to remind me not only that I'm living in a fairy tale, prince charming and all :), but to remind me of my sweet Natalie. I also LOVE Cinderella.

Another WAY I love her...the outfits she comes up with. I finished my shower and in to the bathroom walks this little fashionista. The Easter dress was a little stuck and she was saying, "Hope, Mom, hope me (help, mom, help me)," but other than that, her outfit was complete, down to the socks and squeaky sandals. There's no time to argue over clothing choices in this house, so out we went. Chick-Fil-A wasn't ready for this runway model, but we went there anyways.

WAY #3: Each and every day, she can be heard through the house reading her books. The stories she tells, combined with finding her all relaxed in her chair is enough to make any momma fall in love. On this particular day, I think she was reading to Granny via skype. Granny was probably reclined too, sipping the coffee Natalie just prepared hot for her, hanging on every word of her tale. That little imagination is amazing to me. That's only 3 of the many ways, but I'm sure I'll have more to come in a future post.

Just a few more words on my answered prayers. It's never enough that God simply answers my prayers and that I realize it. He often seems to put the cream cheese icing on the cake. I was recounting to a friend how I recently felt guilty for not giving myself enough time to just enjoy my kiddos (I'm quite the list maker and enjoy checking off tasks). I was remembering a time when Natalie was just a little thing and we were in the airport together traveling to NC sans Nate. I so enjoyed every little thing about her. A complete stranger in the airport walked up to me and said, "I've never seen a more joyful-looking Mother. You two look really happy together." I'd just smiled at the lady and said, "Thank you," not thinking too much of it. I guess it meant more to me than I knew, since I thought of that small conversation last weekend. I thought, am I really too tired and "over" worked (of my own will) to just enjoy my babies anymore? I decided to do some praying about this and leave my emotions and daily plans up to God. Well, after offering up the afore mentioned prayers for just one day, God so vividly answered my prayers, much like in Africa in '01. I spent yesterday morning with my children, laughing and loving on them. They had an extra long, extra bubbly bath. We read books in my bed and it wasn't bedtime. We painted fingernails, we rolled around on the floor, we did any and everything Natalie (and Sutton) wanted to do. It was wonderful. Then we were in the sam's club as Natalie calls it, having pizza. Natalie was being quite the little lady, eating most bites of her pizza with a fork and only stealing a few sips of my coke when I wasn't looking. Sutton was grinning from ear-to-ear as always, signing "more" to get extra bites of pizza and leaning in close to give me saucy kisses between mouthfuls of cheese. It was bliss, truly. Then to top it all off, again, a complete stranger, walks up to our table and says, "You all look like you're having a lovely time together." I smiled, tearing up ever-so-slightly, and just said "thank you." It was a thank you not only to her, but to my Lord, for reminding me that He cares enough about me to bring to my mind those moments from long ago, from Africa and the airport, to show me His faithfulness, even in the smallest things. All we have to do is ask, and believe.

For Daddy

Nate took a trip to El Salvador a couple weeks ago on a short mission trip, leaving behind this happy clan. We were trying to get a recent picture of the three of us, so he wouldn't forget us while he was gone! :) Can you even believe he could leave us for even a day?

Indoor Sports

Just when you thought Friday Nights were only for football...

Hooter Hidin

Most of you have probably heard of the popular breast feeding cover, called a Hooter Hider. If not, it's pretty self explanatory. Here's Natalie using our friend Alyse's one night a few weeks ago. Good to see we're raising her to be modest. At least for now. After a few weeks (or years?) in Africa, the breast feeding modesty will probably fade!

Success!