My Little Girl Is Getting So Big!

Once again I have to apologize for the lack of posts (I'm positive you are all concerned, right?). Here are a few pictures of Natalie, just for fun. They aren't very recent, but I still wanted to share them. Lately we've been busy playing in backyard pool. I figure you don't need to see more pictures of that - and I probably could quit taking them, too. I have enough to last a lifetime! We have also enjoyed the last week and a half having Mike home and NOT in the office studying. It has been wonderful!

This is a picture of a VERY loving Natalie holding her adorable and, can I say, HUGE nephew Rilus. She loves babies. And by the looks of it, she really is no longer a baby herself.

Simply adorable, if I do say so myself.

"Say cheese, Natalie" and this is what I get. I love it. She sure has a fun personality!

Natalie is constantly amazing us with the things she says. Here are a few that are fresh in my mind:

Last night we were at a store and Natalie found a kickball. She threw it to me and said, "Game on!"

A week or so ago while Natalie was taking a bath, I was putting vinyl stickers along the outside of the bathtub - pictures of whales, boats and anchors. When I was done I stepped back to look at the final design. Natalie peered over the side of the tub to get a look and said with a big smile and her arms stretched out wide, "Mom, you did it! I'm so proud of you! Come here and give me a hug."

She, almost daily, asks me if she is getting bigger. She desperately wants to go to school and often gets on her bike, with her backpack on her back, and rides down the street waving goodbye while telling me that she'll be back soon. She then turns around and when she gets back home she tells me she had a good day at school and that she learned her abc's and "stuff". She also has some skills on the computer with the mouse. She can point and click, telling me that she "just needs to click here" and also asking me to help her get to "dot dot com". She even once told Mike that she needed to use the computer so she could BLOG!

She recently began calling me, "My dear" and "Sweetheart". It's adorable. But she still gets a kick out of saying "poopas" to make the kids (and adults) laugh. She usually is successful.

Natalie's prayers at night are getting more and more detailed. Lately we've been praying for Grandma Van since she's going through treatments for lymphoma. She says, "Bless Grandma Van to feel better soon." When I told my grandma what she said, it made her cry and told me that she knows Natalie's prayers are helping. I can't help but believe it, too! Last night, even though Mike's finals are over, she prayed for him saying, "Bless dad that he will have a good test." She also said, "Thank you for the food that we have to eat," instead of the usual, "Bless the food."

Of course these are just a few of the fun things she says and does on a daily basis. Life would most certainly be boring without her!