of laughter ;)  our little girl continues to amuse and amaze us. We were sitting in the living room. Lynn was having Natalie try on some clothes to see what still fit (she’s growing like the proverbial weed). I still hadn’t gotten dressed for the day, lounging on the couch in my normal t-shirt and boxers. *warning, possible TMI section for some people :D* As those of you who wear boxers or have a loved one that does know, they don’t always….ahem….cover everything. So like I said, I was sitting there and Natalie turned to show me some of the clothes she was trying on and she exclaimed “Daddy, cover your po-po.”  Lynn and I started rolling with laughter…then Natalie hit us with the comment that almost killed me.  “I don’t want to see it”  LOL   GOOD GIRL! Keep that attitude with all po-po’s until you’re married.  
We had a great evening with Natalie’s Godfather - Uncle Josh. Natalie and I were discussing what we were doing this evening on our ride home from Espinosas. I told her who we were spending the evening with, and since we know a number of Joshuas, we had to differentiate between them. She did a good job by stating that he would not be little Josh who we played with last weekend. I then told her it was not Daddy’s brother Josh. She was excited in the car, told me that she was going to give him a hug and kiss when saw him, and then she played shy when we walked in the door. Natalie warmed up very quickly though, and had a great night talking and playing with Uncle Josh.
A follow up for the bedtime routine - the big girl bed has made for peaceful evenings. She does very well with going to bed. Natalie knows that if she comes out of her room more than once, her other option is sleeping in her crib. I hope the novelty of the new bed does not wear off. As for mornings, she is a very typical child now. Anywhere between 7 and 8 is when she comes out and says, “I’m awake, just a little bit.” :) I do miss the 9 to 9 sleep cycle. I have not adjusted to the earlier mornings yet. Thank goodness for morning cartoons.
Tonight, we transitioned Natalie into the “big girl bed”. I originally wanted to wait as long as possible. Until Natalie decided to get out of her crib on a regular basis or outgrew it, I was willing to let her sleep in there. The decision was swayed as a result of some irritating nights over the course of the past month.
There are a number of reasons she may have had trouble getting to sleep lately. It may be because of her molars that have been coming in. Possibly, because of the summer schedule of inconsistent bedtimes. Another possibility could be because of nap time when I lay down with her since she has been sleeping on the floor at different homes. The list could go on from here.
Regardless of these reasons, she has been putting up a fit going down after the bedtime routine that we have had in place since she has been sleeping through the night. Natalie has been telling us what she knows she should not be doing at night - crying so much that she gets sick and calling for mommy and daddy. We have tried the cry it out method, and that has frustrated all of us. She would tantrum for close to an hour in her room.
Tonight, we picked up side rails for the bed we’ve had in her room all summer. Nate got it ready, went through the bedtime routine, and it only took a couple of calls to us and she went to bed without a meltdown. Hopefully, this is not a fluke and this will be the start of pleasant evenings for all of us again.
Earlier this week we were at some friends’ house for a cookout. We were in the backyard in the evening and there were still some bees buzzing around. Later on, when it got dark and bees went wherever it is bees go when it gets dark, Natalie walked over from some of the other kids she was talking to and asked me where the bees are. I said “they’re sleeping honey” and then went back to my conversation with some of the adults at the party. A minute or two later we heard “my daddy says the bees are sleeping…..my daddy says”  I have become the end all be all question answerer now… 
We were leaving the party and walked through the house. Our friends have a trombone hanging in the living room. Natalie was asking if she could play with it, and I told her no, but she could play with mine sometime at home (I played the trombone 6th grade through college).  The second we got home and were walking into the house, Natalie asked “can I play with your dumbo?”  I didn’t quite get what she was asking for, so I asked her to say it again…”can I play with your dumbo?”  “my dumbo? I don’t know what you’re asking for honey”  “your dumbo….your instrument”  LOL….I got it then
Thursday night we drove to Madison to spend the evening there, and she was chanting something along the lines of “all of the fort”   We couldn’t figure out exactly what she was saying or where she was getting it from. Lynn asked her where that saying came from. Natalie replied in a matter of fact tone “from my mouth”  I laughed so hard I cried.
Friday evening I had to do some shopping for clothes, and fortunately we had the store to ourselves. Lynn started playing hide and seek with Natalie with Natalie counting and seeking “1, 2, 3, 4….ready or not here I come” then she’d run around the store until she found Lynn, at which point she’d scream and giggle. Not sure how the lady running the store felt about it, but hey, we dropped a lot of coin there so I’m sure she didn’t mind too much.
Last story: we had a little accident on one of the couch cushions so I had to take it off and clean it. I left it off to dry and there were a few dusty spots on the couch where the cushion was. Natalie asked what they were and Lynn told her “dust bunnies” I came in the room and sat down and Natalie told me to watch for the “bunny poop” on the spot where the cushion was missing….Lynn was rolling and I was confused until she explained it to me….at which point I was rolling too…..I never knew having a 2 year old would be so much fun.
