16 months!

Wow, judging by the title of the last post, I've been a bit of a slacker in updating Natalie's blog. Perhaps it's because it's been life as usual around here over the past few weeks (with the exception of the beginning of football season). Natalie is still doing well at school and enjoying her teachers and classmates. One of her teachers even told us that Natalie is her favorite child, and I'm sure she means it too! The highlight of my day is when I pick her up at school and stand outside the door peeking in through the window so I can see what she's up to before she notices I'm there. She's usually happily reading, sitting in someone's lap or playing quietly. I love the look on her face when she spots me - a big smile spreads across her lips and she gets up and races toward me, sometimes giving me a hug. It's the cutest thing ever! I also really enjoy seeing her artwork up on the walls. They do art projects every day. I have a few of them up in my office - I think she shows real promise!
Anyway, on to the photos. Many of them are from our weekend at Treasure Island with our friends and their 2-year-old daughter. We all had a great time at the beach and Natalie was a big hit at the beach bar nearby. All the adults were smiling at her as she danced and clapped along with the live music. She loved it! People really seem to respond to her. She's such a little social butterfly, just like her Dada. We had to keep a close eye on her at the beach because she kept trying to eat the shells. She knew she wasn't supposed to do it and I knew that she knew because she would be laughing as she put each shell up to her mouth. I think she was just testing her boundaries! I'm sure that's only the beginning of what we've got to look forward to over the next few years. But she's so cute that she can get away with just about anything.