Can I get that for you?

Check out my little helper! 

She knows right where the pickle relish is if you need some when you come to our house! :)

Birthday Bash

Natalie turned one on Tuesday, Nov. 16th, but we didn't have a birthday party for her until Friday the 19th.  We were blessed to have some great family in attendance.  Papa and Nana Fast, Great Grandpa and Grandma Fast, Uncle Duane and Aunt Shirley, and Uncle Keith and Aunt Joan. 

We started off the night with some homemade pizzas...one of Natalie's favorite meals.

Just look at that face! 

Natalie and her #1 man...Dada!

Having fun with Uncle Duane.

The gifts.

Opening gifts.

The cake.  I decided on a ducky cake since she knows what a ducky is and has a few of them that she ADORES!  As soon as she saw her cake, her face lit up recognizing the animal.  I made a smaller cake for her to destroy.  It was just the head of the duck though.

Lighting the candle and singing "Happy Birthday!"

Can you tell it was after bedtime?  Look at those eyes!

 She really wasn't too excited about her cake.

But...A spoon helped to give her a second wind.

Clean up time at the sink. 

What a great evening we had!  Thanks to the family that was able to come and help celebrate our lovely lady and her first year of life!  She is such a blessing to our lives and we are so thankful for all the joy she has brought us and look forward to many more years to come!

WE LOVE YOU NATALIE GRACE!

Snow Day

This morning we headed outside to play in the snow for a bit.  This was Natalie's first time to bundle up and enjoy the snow.  We have had temperatures with a high of below zero and a windchill of much colder the past few days, so to wake up this morning to sunshine and a balmy 27 degrees was really nice!

Daddy getting Natalie dressed for the fun! 

Her first pair of snow boots came in the mail the day before Turkey Day.

Looking at the dogs play in the snow.

Getting ready for some fun!

She was loving it!

We tied a sled up behind the four-wheeler and she and I rode together.

Daddy took her for a quick ride before we came in!

Happy 1st Birthday Natalie!

Today marks officially one year since our little angel, Natalie Grace, was born.  We have been absolutely blessed to no end to have been given one of the greatest gifts ever in this little girl.  To think that at noon, exactly one year ago, God gave us the most precious gift we have ever received...this first year with her has gone SO fast!  To look back at pictures from that day and blog posts from days since, it is astounding to see how much Natalie has grown and changed.  And in just one year.  Her looks, her personality, her actions, her chatter, her eating habits, the pure joy that she brings us...wow it has gone fast.  I am SO thankful to have been able to stay home with her during this year of growth, and look forward to many more. 

At one year Natalie:
-LOVES to carry around plastic baggies or a bucket with handle putting things in it and taking things out. 
-helps mommy put the laundry into the washer and then into the dryer.
-throws her diapers away into the diaper genie when we open the lid.
-throws trash she finds on the ground into either the trashcan or our laundry baskets.
-walks like a champ, able to step over things in her way without any help.
-tries to run...but still falls.
-climbs up stairs and slides back down on her belly like a pro.
-likes to use a spoon when eating...she waits to put the food on the spoon just about an inch from her mouth.
-knows where her nose is when asked. 
-knows that socks and shoes go on her feet.
-LOVES to wear her pink fuzzy winter hat and mittens.
-knows how to use sign language for "drink" (milk), "please," and sometimes "more."
-smacks her tongue when she is hungry or whenever we say the word "eat."

-says "Dada," "Cra-ca," "Ma-ma," "Ba-ba," ... although none of them seem to hold a specific meaning yet! :)
-imitates us (especially the tone of our voice) when we say words like "cracker," "doggie," "baby," "uh-oh," etc.
-enjoys the nursery at church...finally!
-is figuring out how to push her little train around on the floor.
-still loves the tv remote and any phone.
-plays "So Big."
-has thrown a few major tantrums when she doesn't get what she wants or is unable to do something she knows she can (like get a flip open cell phone to open up).
-loves to play in toilet water if she discovers the toilet lid was left open.
-enjoys finding the end of a roll or toilet paper and pulling it out of the bathroom and down the hall.
-comes at full speed when she hears or notices the dishwasher is open and being loaded or unloaded.
-chooses to climb up into the fridge to see what is in it if she gets the chance.
-loves to unfold an entire basket of folded clothes if it was left anywhere within her reach.
-will most likely claim her favorite animal/cuddle buddy as "ducky"...which she imitates saying very well.
-loves to cuddle in a dim room at night in the recliner with "ducky" and "passee."
-LOVES to carry around her little snack dispenser and eat Goldfish or Cheerios from it...you can tell she is so proud of herself when she has that thing in hand.

We love you Natalie Grace and pray that God will continue to bless you in the years to come. 
XOXO Love, Daddy and Mommy

P.S.  We will have a birthday party for Natalie this coming Friday night, so pictures will follow from that I'm sure!

Cracker

Bouncy, Bouncy

One of Natalie's new favorite things to do!

Snow White

Happy (late) Halloween from the cutest little Snow White on the block!

Fall Festival

We had a Fall Festival in our garage the weekend before Halloween.  It turned out to be a great crowd and we had a great time!  Below are just a few pictures of some of the crew at supper time.  We counted and think we had 54 people/kiddos in attendance...what a blast!

Unfortunately I was too busy running around getting games for the kids going that I didn't get much at all for pictures besides people eating.  I'll have to talk to my friend Virginia to see if I can steal some of her pictures that she took. 

The evening consisted of a hayrack ride, a pumpkin rolling relay race, pin the spider on the web, bobbing for apples, eat the donut off the string, a candy corn drop, good food, and a great time with friends.

A long kids table

The Luhmann clan...all the way from North Dakota!

We LOVED having you guys!

The Ramsey girls

Lauren, Nate Ramsey, Silas, Seth, and Natalie

The Seekins Family

Another kids table

(Sorry about the blur in the middle of each picture...maybe you didn't even notice?!?...I didn't notice until the next day that there was a fingerprint on my lens.)

Heartwell Park

This park has a special place in my heart.  My great-grandparents lived right across the street from it and we spent countless hours feeding the ducks or sitting on their screened-in porch watching passers-by.  More recently, the last time I visited this park was just after Tony and I got married for pictures with the wedding party. 

Daddy decided to spend the day with Natalie and I rather than go to the field. We had a nice, relaxing morning and then for lunch headed to Sonic's drivethru. We took our lunch to a picnic table in the sun at Heartwell Park and enjoyed our meal and a walk around the lake. Natalie didn't get to do much walking that day due to the fact that the park maintenence crew had just aerated the lawn and the little "mud turds" were extra muddy that day.

"So big" sitting on the picnic table eating lunch.

Watching duckies...real, live ones!

Getting a little bit closer.

Watching them swim.

This was not the same day, but here is a funny picture of Natalie playing with Grammie Lynn's glasses!

She was so proud!

'Field' Trip--NE style

While down in NE, Tony was super excited to help out my Uncle Ronnie with corn harvest.  It is so different from the peas and wheat that we raise up here in MT, so to get his hands dirty in the fields down there is more fun than work for him. 

Natalie and I headed out to the field on a Thursday afternoon to visit the guys.

Here she is in her 'playpen' (aka backend of the pickup) playing with some field corn.

She was so excited to see Daddy coming her way!

Ah...Daddy!

Playing with Grandpa John.  He took a couple days off of work to help with harvest on his fields, so it was good to see him outside of his normal work clothes.

Checking out the "deere."

Walking down the rows of corn.  She really liked this!

On the other hand, she DID NOT like sitting on a pile of corn up in the auger wagon. 

It took a little getting used to.

Going for a drive with Grandpa John while waiting for the semi-trucks to return from the elevator.

As soon as they arrived back to the field, they were getting filled up again.  Those long lines at the elevators are a pain in the patoot somedays!

Taking a ride in the auger wagon with Daddy.

Go figure...

So, the last post I did was on Oct. 13th.  Today is Nov. 12th.  I told myself I wasn't going to let the blog get behind.  Yeah right!  We have had some fun experiences and new happenings since my last post, so over the next couple of days I'll do my best to get this updated!